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LIBRARY 

(»■    THK 

Theological    Seminary, 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 


G 


BL    181    .C66    1857 


^^^'    The   connections   of   the 
Bo       Universe 


The  John  >1.  Krebs  Donatio u. 


j-vy>  w 


THE 


CONNECTIONS 


OF 


THE   UNIVERSE, 


AS   SEEN  IN  THE   LIGHT   OF   GOD'S   CREATED  AND 
WRITTEN    REVELATIONS. 


0HEI8T    ALL    IN    ALL. 


NEW  YOKK : 
THOMAS  K   STANFORD;   637   BROADWAY. 

BALTIMOEE:  JOHN  P.  DES  FORGES. 

1857. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857, 

By  THOMAS  N.  STANFOKD, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

Southern  District  of  New  York. 


TO 

LLOYD  W.  A^^D  MARIA  P.  WILLL4MS, 

OP 

BALTIMOEE     COUNTY,     MARYLAND, 

A3 

^  ^ohn  0f  §mixinh, 

FOE      A     FRIENDSHIP 
WHICH  HAS  BEEN 

ONE    OF    THE   MOST   AGEEEABLE    EPISODES 

OF    HIS    LIFE, 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 
August  20th,  1856. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Preface, ^ 

Chap.      I.  Creation;  or,  the  Works  of  God,     .        .  13 

"        II.  Creation,  as  seen  by  Revelation  and  Science,  22 

"       III.  Revelation  ;  or.  The  Words  of  God,       .         .  39 

"       IV.  The  Incarnation;  or,  Life  of  God,     .        .  61 

"        Y.  The  Gospel  a  Mystery, 88 

"      VI.  The  Earth  and  the  Heavens,       .        .        .  106 

"     VII.  The  Unity  of  Matter, 130 

"    VIII.  The  Unity  of  Mind, 1V3 

"       IX.  The  Unity  of  Labor, 19V 

"        X.  On  the  Employments  of  Angels,           .         .  224 

"       XI.  Employments  of  Evil  Spirits,  .         .         .245 

"      XII.  The  Influence  of  Evil  Spirits  on  Earth  in  the 

Nineteenth  Century,         .         .         .         .267 

"    XIII.  Summary  and  Conclusion,     ....  296 


PREFACE. 


This  volume  undertakes  to  generalize  some  floating 
thoughts  of  the  writer  on  the  Eevelation  which 
God  has  made  to  man,  and  to  trace  some  of  the 
connections  of  all  the  mind  and  matter  of  the  uni- 
verse. 

It  aims  to  show,  that  God  has  made  three  re- 
markable Eevelations  of  Himself  to  the  intelligent 
beings  of  the  universe. 

First,  Creation,  or  the  Works  of  God,  by  which 
He  made  known  some  of  the  essential  perfections 
of  the  Godhead :  His  incomprehensible  power  and 
wisdom.  This  Eevelation  is  not  to  man  alone,  but 
to  every  intelligent  mind  in  the  universe. 

Second,  TheBiUe,  or  the  Words  of  God,  another 
act  for  the  further  development  of  Himself;  unfold- 
ing His  goodness,  holiness,  and  truth.     Tliis  Eeve- 


8  PKEFACE. 

lation  unveils  to  man  Divine  characteristics  already 
known  to  higher  orders  of  beings,  because  it  repre- 
sents God  as  always  the  same,  and  He  must  be  the 
same  to  all. 

Third,  The  Incarnation^  or  the  Life  of  God, 
which  is  the  fullest  Revelation  of  the  Creator,  that 
man,  as  a  mortal,  is  capable  of  receiving  from  Him. 
It  makes  known  the  ims^eahable  riches  of  His  ex- 
ceeding abundant  love,  justice,  and  grace  in  Jesus 
Oirist.  This  Revelation  is  also  probably  known  to 
the  inhabitants  of  all  worlds. 

Each  of  these  Revelations  is  but  partial  to  man, 
because  his  world  is  but  a  fraction  of  the  universe  ; 
his  Bihle  but  a  fraction  of  God's  words ;  and  his 
Incarnation  but  a  faint  shadowing  forth  of  the  Life 
of  God. 

These  incontrovertible  facts  are  an  argument 
and  proof,  that  the  three  Revelations  were  not  made 
specially  for  man,  but,  that  he,  as  a  son  of  God, 
and  citizen  of  the  universe,  has  as  much  revealed  to 
him  as  is  necessary  for  his  present  condition. 

As  man  ranges  through  these  Revelations,  one 
after  the  other,  and  traces  their  connections^  they 
unfold  to  him  different  views  of  God.  And  the  sum 
of  their  analogies  and  differences  picture  the  Crea- 
tor to  his  mind,  widen  his  ideas  of  Him,  and  reveal 
all  that  he  is  capable  of  knowing  of  Him. 

An  impenetrable  obscurity  hangs  over  each  one 


PEEFACE.  9 

of  the  Eevelations.  God  is  hidden  behind  the  veil 
of  matter  ;  He  is  hidden  behind  the  veil  of  woi^ds  ; 
He  is  hidden  behind  the  veil  of  flesh.  Each  Eeve- 
lation  is  progressive.  The  veil  grows  thinner.  At 
last  the  Life  of  God  proceeds  into  moral  action^  and 
the  glory  of  the  Father  shines  through  His  Only 
Begotten  Son. 

We  see  in  Him  how  God  would  do  if  He  w^ere  a 
man  on  earth  like  ourselves.  This  is  the  compen- 
dium of  Creation  and  Eevelation  to  man,  to  teach 
him  how  to  do,  and  to  be,  like  his  Father  and  God. 

The  Bible  is  the  principal  source  whence  infor 
mation  on  these  subjects  is  to  be  obtained.  It  gives 
the  hint,  that  all  worlds  are  united  by  the  act  of 
creation,  and  science  corroborates  it.  It  teaches  that 
the  universe  is  the  creation  of  one  Infinite  Spirit ; 
that  man  is  part  spirit,  and  the  higher  orders  of  be- 
ings are  all  spirit,  and  that  both  are  connected  by 
the  relationship  of  creation  by  a  common  Father. 
And  that  the  planets,  suns,  and  systems  are  islands 
in  the  ocean  of  space,  and  some  of  them  theatres  of 
action  of  intelligent  spiritual  beings.  One  universe 
with  many  worlds,  all  created  and  governed  by  one 
God,  and  inhabited  by  beings  animated  with  one 
spirit,  some  good,  some  bad,  and  some  on  probation. 

The  grandeur  of  the  universe  can  be  estimated 
only  by  viewing  it  as  a  whole  ;  and  the  whole  is  so 
vast  that  it  cannot  be  grasped  by  the  human  mind. 
1* 


10  PREFACE. 

All  that  man  can  do  is  to  examine  the  details  which 
come  within  reach  of  his  observation  and  intellect. 

Science  teaches  that  all  matter  is  compounded 
into  globes  or  worlds  similar  to  the  earth,  connected 
by  a  common  gravitation,  and  governed  by  a  com- 
mon law.  Here  it  stops.  It  however  seizes  some 
of  the  details  of  that  law,  and  discovers  some  of  the 
connections  and  analogies  of  the  different  parts.  But 
it  teaches  nothing  certain  of  the  connections  or  re- 
lationship of  either  the  worlds  or  their  inhabitants. 
All  it  infers  on  these  points  is  speculation  and  con- 
jecture. It  creates  the  highest  j)robabilitj  that  the 
distant  worlds  are  parts  of  a  grand  whole,  and  in- 
habited by  beings  having  functions  of  life  adapted 
to  their  several  jphysical  conditions. 

Where  science  stops,  the  Holy  Scriptures  come 
to  its  aid ;  confirm  its  conjectures  ;  teach  that  all 
worlds  were  created  by  the  one  God,  to  be  inhabit- 
ed ;  and  throw  some  light  on  the  relationship  and 
employments  of  their  several  occupants ;  and  also 
what  is  to  be  the  destiny  of  man,  of  his  world,  and 
all  the  intelligent  creatures  of  God. 

Unbelievers  in  these  Revelations  have  attempted 
to  show,  that  the  work  of  creation  teaches  atheism 
or  pantheism,  and  that  the  Bible  is  a  human  my- 
thological narrative  of  fabulous  persons.  It  is  here 
aimed  to  prove  that,  when  rightly  interpreted,  they 


PREFACE.  11 

teach  no  sucli  thing,  but  are  the  result  of  the  wisely 
directed  power  of  one  Infinite  and  Divine  Mind. 

The  earnest  desire  of  the  writer  is,  that  these 
thoughts  may  be  in  strict  accordance  with  the  truth 
and  will  of  God,  with  the  doctrines  of  Christ's  Gos- 
pel and  Church,  and  may  promote  His  honor  and 
glory  among  men. 

They  ha^e  been  written  at  intervals,  between 
other  daily  employments,  and  may  possibly  contain 
inaccuracies.  They  are  unintentional.  Truth  is  his 
aim.  If  they  shall  be  the  means  of  extending  the 
boundaries  of  knowledge  and  truth,  or  of  bringing 
an  abler  expounder  to  their  defence,  one,  at  least, 
of  his  desires,  will  be  attained. 

It  is  not  intended  as  a  book  for  the  learned,  but 
as  a  popular  argument  for  the  masses  of  the  people, 
against  the  popular  infidelity  of  the  age. 

Baltimore  Co.,  Maryland,  Oct.  17,  1856. 


COMECTIONS  OF  THE  UNIVERSE. 


CHAPTEE    I. 

creation;  oe,  the  wokks  of  god. 


"  Verily  thou  art  a  God  who  Mclest  thyself." 

The  Prophet  Isaiah. 


Before  creation,  God  existed  alone  in  the  un- 
speakable splendors  of  the  adorable  Godhead.  The 
human  mind  is  incapable  of  imagining  that  state. 
Hevelation  is  silent  concerning  it. 

Creation  began  without  any  announcement. 
The  vast  realm  of  space  lay  before  God's  silent 
power.  It  was  startled  by  the  voice  of  the  Eternal 
Word  sounding  over  its  dark  and  unfatliomable 
abysses,  calling  existences  up  from  nothing.  He 
spake,  and  sparkling  hosts  of  shining  worlds  sprang 
up  and  glittered  over  its  illimitable  field. 


14:  CEEATION ; 

Jesus  Christ  is  tlie  beginning  and  the  end  of 
creation.  St.  John  savs :  ''  He  was  in  the  begin- 
ning with  God,  and  all  things  were  made  by  Him." 
And  St.  Paul:  ''By  Him  were  all  things  created, 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible 
and  invisihleJ^  It  was  modelled  hy  Him  and  for 
Him^  was  pronounced  "  good  "  by  Him,  and  is  at 
last  to  be  gathered  into  Him.  It  flowed  out  from 
Him,  and  is  now  flowing  back  purified,  to  be  here- 
after glorified. 

Creation  is  the  foundation  of  the  Son  of  God's 
human  nature.  It  was  born  out  of  it.  God  pre- 
destined Him  from  all  eternity,  and  He  would 
have  had  no  such  nature  without  creation.  All 
inanimate  nature — the  planets,  suns,  and  systems, 
with  all  their  vital  and  mechanical  forces  ;  and  all 
the  intelligent  beings  capable  of  understanding 
these  works,  were  created  hy  and  foi\  "  and  with 
a  view  to  Him,  and  in  some  way  modelled  upon 
Him,  and  marked  with  His  seal,  and  are  His  pro- 
perty in  right  of  the  created  nature  which  He  has 
so  admirably  wedded  to  the  Divine." 

Man  knows  nothing  of  God  but  what  He  has 
revealed.  Creation  was  the  beginning  of  His  acts, 
to  make  Himself  known  outside  of  the  Godhead. 
It  was  the  unfolding  of  the  iincreated  raind  to  other 
created  minds.  It  was  a  "  supernatural  act,"  and 
a  condescension  of  the  Creator.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary for  His  own  glory  or  ha23piness.  He  created 
for  the  good  of  others.  Pantheists  would  make 
God  the  soul  of  the  universe,  but  creation  gives  its 
own  evidence,  that  He  contrived  it  so  as  to  display 


THE   WOEKS    OF   GOD.  15 

His  own  power  and  wisdom,  and  to  make  it  a  bless- 
ing to  others. 

God  is  every  wliere  present  in  His  Avorks,  but  is 
not  by  such  a  presence  as  human  reason  would 
expect.  "  It  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a  thing ; " 
all  things.  All  that  can  be  learned  of  the  Creator 
from  creation  alone  is  so  little  that  He  seems  hidden 
to  His  creatures ;  so  hidden  that  no  mortal  mind 
can  discover  any  thing  certain  of  His  nature,  be- 
yond the  fact  that  He  is  the  Possessor  of  almighty 
power  and  Avisdom. 

From  creation  alone  man  could  never  learn  the 
vast  extent  of  God's  immeasurable  goodness,  justice, 
and  love.  He  is  hidden  in  creci^tion^  because  it  is 
the  beginning  of  His  works.  All  His  processes  are 
silent  and  inscrutable.  They  seem  slow  to  man, 
because  he  views  through  the  measurement  of  time 
that  which  is  progressing  by  the  measurement  of 
eternity.  He  is  hidden,  because  creation  cannot 
develope  the  whole  of  the  Divine  mind.  It  teaches 
nothing  certainly  of  His  moral  nature.  He  is  hid- 
den, because  it  is  a  part  of  His  plan  to  teach  by 
awakening  inquiry.  To  be  found,  God  has  to  be 
looked  for  by  "  all  manner  of  deep  thought."  All 
increase  of  knowledge  of  God  increases  love  of 
Him.  It  is  so,  at  least,  when  we  search  and  make 
discoveries  ourselves.  It  might  not  be  so  if  we 
could  acquire  the  knowledge  without  effort.  This 
may  be  one  reason  wdiy  He  hides  himself.  There 
is  nothing  in  life  so  delightful  as  to  search  after 
God.  "When  we  reverently  discover  Him,  in  \hQ 
mysteries  of  His  works  and  words,  our  souls  are 


16  CREATION ; 

filled  with  joy :  we  find  that  which  our  natures  had 
most  longed  for. 

God's  works  necessarily  seem  obscm-e  to  man, 
because  it  is  impossible  for  a  child  to  understand 
the  wisdom  of  its  Father.  The  difference  between 
His  knowledge  and  man's  ignorance  is  so  great, 
that  His  simplest  acts  appear  mysterious  to  Him. 
Although  they  seem  obscure,  they  are  made  in  the 
plainest  manner  that  the  Infinite  sees  best  adapted 
to  the  finite  mind.  The  clearest  revelations  of  God 
are  through  the  seemingly  deepest  hidings  of  Him- 
self: for  examples  in  the  Incarnation  and  Cruci- 
fixion. But,  through  all  the  darkness  which  hangs 
around  God,  man  discerns  enough  to  fit  him  for 
every  condition  of  his  life.  The  mysteries  increase 
his  reverence  of  God,  arouse  his  intellect,  and 
ennoble  him  as  He  studies  them. 

The  innumerable  worlds  and  systems  in  the 
heavens,  and  the  vast  variety  of  animal  and  vege- 
table life,  and  mineral  forms  on  earth,  attract  the 
attention,  awaken  curiosity,  and  lead  the  mind  step 
by  step  to  the  highest  conceptions  of  the  Creator's 
wisdom  and  power. 

There  is  no  reason  why  creation  may  not  now 
be  comparatively  in  its  infancy.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  Bible  to  oppose  the  belief,  that  it  began  with 
the  difterent  orders  of  angels  and  men,  and  that 
space  is  destined  to  be  more  gloriously  filled  w^ith 
an  infinite  variety  of  new  beings  and  worlds  be- 
fore creation  is  completed.  It  certainly  teaches 
that  there  are  to  be  other  creations  of  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth.     All  creation,  vast  as  it  is,  is  too 


THE   WORKS   OF   GOD.  17 

narrow  to  give  intelligent  beings  a  complete  idea  of 
God.  He  is  too  infinite  to  be  made  known  by  a 
single  revelation,  however  marvellous.  He  has 
therefore  made  Three,  which  show  different  phases 
of  His  Divine  nature. 

God  always  had  His  universal  empire  of  glory, 
before  creation  began.  He  created  to  manifest  it. 
He  had  from  everlasting  all  power  and  wisdom,  all 
goodness  and  justice.  But  they  were  ivholly  hidden 
in  the  mysterious  recesses  of  His  own  Being,  until 
He  created.  He  could  exercise  neither  justice  nor 
mercy,  and  it  may  have  been  so  with  many  of  His 
other  attributes,  until  there  were  objects  to  call  them 
into  action.  Without  creation,  some  of  these  Di- 
vine attributes  must  have  been  for  ever  latent, 
since  there  would  have  been  no  occasion  to  exercise 
them. 

Creation  is  His  first  Revelation.  There  He 
shadows  forth  His  power  and  wisdom.  It  is  His 
Kingdom  of  j^ature.  The  Bible  is  His  second  Rev- 
elation. That  reveals  His  love  and  mercy,  and 
makes  known  His  Kingdom  of  Grace.  The  Incar- 
nation is  His  third  Revelation,  and  this  lets  down 
to  man  a  cord  of  Light  and  Life  from  the  Kingdom 
of  Glory,  where  He  reigns.  The  first  reveals  His 
Power,  the  second  His  Will,  and  the  third  His  life 
and  participation  in  His  own  creation. 

They  together  show  a  progressive  development 
of  the  Divine  ligature,  and  unitedly  give  a  sublime 
insight  into  the  varied  magnificence  of  His  attri- 
butes. 

The  three  Revelations  bring  to  view,  to  the  hu- 


18  CREATION ; 

man  understanding,  the  three  Kingdoms  over  which 
God  reigns,  and  to  which  man  is  subject.  They  are 
the  Kingdom  of  IS'ature,  into  which  he  comes  by 
his  natural  birth ;  the  Kingdom  of  Grace,  into  which 
he  enters  by  a  spiritual  baptismal  birth ;  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Glory,  into  the  vestibule  of  which  he 
enters,  through  the  womb  of  death,  to  Eternal 
Life. 

Thus  it  is  seen  in  the  outset,  that  there  is  a  mar- 
vellous relationship  in  these  three  Kevelations  ;  tliat 
man  could  not  know  his  own  destiny,  without  some 
knowledge  of  all  of  them ;  and  that  they  indicate 
progressive  stages  of  growth  from  inanimate  to  ani- 
mate matter,  and  thence  onward  from  a  natural  to 
an  Eternal  Life. 

There  is  another  remarkable  resemblance  be- 
tween these  Revelations.  They  are  all  mysterious. 
Reason  perceives  that  God  is  hidden  in  them ;  Rev- 
elation declares  that  it  is  so  ;  and  viewed  in  the  light 
of  both  reason  and  revelation  He  is  every  where  the 
same.  '*  All  creation  lies  before  Him  as  a  vast  remon , 
QYQYj  point  of  which  is  a  hiding-place  for  Him  who 
made  it."  But  each  Revelation  connects  with  and 
developes  the  other ;  and  yet  the  last  and  highest 
stage  maintains  the  original  character  of  mystery. 
That  is,  God,  though  constantly  coming  into  view, 
is  hidden  to  the  last.,  in  the  Incarnation,  behind  the 
veil  of  flesh.  Creation,  in  its  last  stage  known  to 
man,  ends  in  the  Incarnation,  where  it  is  lost  in 
God. 

The  human  mind  discovers  no  boundaries  to 
God's  works.     Man,  with  his  j)resent  capacity,  can- 


THE  WOEKS   OF   GOD.  19 

not  in  his  whole  life  learn  enough  to  compare  the 
three  Divine  Revelations,  or  to  trace  their  connec- 
tions. This  capacity  and  measure  of  knowledge  is 
reserved  to  be  communicated,  when  the  mortal  shall 
have  put  on  immortality ;  when  he  shall  have  en- 
tered the  Kingdom  of  Glory,  which  will  embrace 
the  universe,  without  one  world  not  in  subjection 
to  the  Creator. 

The  greatest  earthly  fertilizer  of  man's  intellect 
is  the  study  of  whatever  may  be  known  of  these 
mysteries.  It  throws  floods  of  light  on  the  nature 
of  God  and  man,  and  the  universe :  on  time  and 
eternity,  sin  and  redemption ;  on  life,  and  death,  and 
immortality.  Meditation  on  these  subjects  illu- 
mines their  obscurities,  and  opens  up  their  hidden 
meanings.  It  carries  us  backward  to  the  never  be- 
ginning, and  forward  to  the  never  ending  ages  of 
eternity.  It  shows  that  all  God's  works  flow  from 
the  immeasurable  fulness  of  His  love,  pouring  itself 
out  as  a  source  of  happiness  to  others.  He  must 
have  known  some  evil  would  attend  the  mechanism 
of  His  vast  works  ;  "  yet  He  created."  Because  He 
had  foreseen  and  provided  beforehand  a  remedy 
for  the  evil,  and  because  the  evil  would  be  infinite- 
ly small  in  comparison  with  the  good. 

Revelation  says,  that  God  created  all  things  by 
and  for  His  Son  :  that  all  creation,  with  its  domin- 
ions and  principalities,  is  at  last  to  be  made  the 
dwelling-place  of  '^  righteousness,"  and  to  be  con- 
solidated, and  Christ  is  to  be  subject  to  Him  who 
put  all  things  under  Him.     Then  the  designs  of  God 


20  CEEATION ; 

in  creating  will  have  been  accomplislied,  and  "  God 
will  he  all  in  allP 

What  that  means  has  not  been  revealed  ;  and  of 
it  man  can  only  humbly  conjecture.  It  doubtless 
refers  to  our  Lord's  Mediatorial  Kingdom,  which  is 
built  uj)  on  and  out  of  creation^  to  which  man  be- 
longs, and  which  is  to  be  turned  over,  when  com- 
pleted, to  the  Kingdom  of  Glory  of  the  Father 
Everlasting,  which  existed  before  creation. 

If  man  cannot  understand  what  that  kingdom  is, 
he  can  adore  and  rest  happily  in  the  prospect ; 
since,  when  a  Father  of  perfect  wisdom,  holiness, 
and  justice  is  on  the  throne  of  the  universe,  and 
man  belongs  to  that  empire,  he  must  be  satisfied. 
He  can  imagine  no  higher  government,  and  con- 
ceive of  no  higher  happiness  and  dignity,  than  to  be 
its  everlasting  subject.  And  as  it  is  revealed  that 
he  is  to  have  a  part  in  its  administration,  there  is 
nothing  beyond  to  which  a  holy  ambition  can 
aspire. 

As  creation  is  one  of  the  means,  by  which  God 
communicates  His  goodness  and  knowledge  to  man, 
so  also  is  it,  probably,  a  channel  by  which  He  pours 
them  through  all  worlds.  And  as  God's  glory  has 
been  increased,  and  man's  happiness  secured  by 
this  act  on  earth,  so  is  it  probable  that  the  same  re- 
sults have  been  produced  among  the  intelligent 
beings  of  all  worlds. 

In  his  present  state,  man  is  not  only  born  into, 
hut  out  of  the  Kingdom  of  Nature.  He  is  created 
from  the  dust,  and  he  grows  up  (by  the  use  of  its 
vegetables,  grains,  and  fruits,)  to  the  full  stature  of 


THE    WOKKS    OF    GOD.  21 

a  citizen  of  this  kingdom.  This  is  the  first  stage  of 
his  development  and  progress.  And  if  this  were  to 
be  his  end,  to  live  only  this  life  on  earth,  there 
would  have  been  no  necessity  for  a  fm-ther  Eeve- 
lation. 


22  CREATION,    AS   SEEN 


CHAPTEE  II. 

CREATION,    AS    SEEN   BY   REVELATION   AND    SCIENCE. 


"  He  hideth  Himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see  Him." 

The  Preacher  Job. 


God  has  given  man  no  definite  acconnt  of  the 
creation  of  His  own  world.  He  simply  relates,  that 
"  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth." 

This  is  an  independent  sentence  of  Divine  reve- 
lation, and  has  no  immediate  connection  with  what 
follows.  It  is  a  succinct  acconnt  of  the  whole  pri- 
meval work  of  creation,  and  relates  to  periods  long 
prior  to  all  that  man  calls  time.  It  stands  like  the 
order  of  things  it  describes,  independent  and  alone. 
What  follows  is  an  expansion  of  this.  The  terms 
heaven  and  earth  designate  the  common  substance, 
and  common  matter,  of  the  elements  of  all  created 
things. 

The  heavens,  being  the  noblest  worlds,  are  first 
mentioned  in  the  order  of  revelation,  as  thej  doubt- 
less were  in  the  order  of  creation.  Man  knows  not 
what   the   term   means.     Eeference   is   frequently 


BY   EEVELATION   AND   SCIENCE.  23 

made  to  tliem  in  the  Bible,  but  in  snob  a  way  that 
it  is  impossible  to  determine  their  cbaracter.  A 
distinction  is  made  between  the  two  kinds  of  crea- 
tion, but  its  nature  is  bidden  from  man.  It  war- 
rants tbe  belief  in  two  kinds  of  worlds.  Man  knows 
of  two  kinds  of  beings,  tbe  material  wbo  live  on 
eartb,  and  tbe  spiritual  wbo  live  elsewbere.  Tbese 
worlds  may  differ  or  exist  under  somewhat  similar 
distinctions. 

The  form  of  the  words  "beginning"  and 
"  heavens "  has  a  meaning.  They  were  designed 
to  teach.  The  first  refers  to  periods  of  time  beyond 
all  human  records,  or  the  remotest  described  by  the 
most  enthusiastic  geologist ;  and  the  second  to  the 
heavenly  worlds,  in  contradistinction  to  the  material 
like  the  earth,  and  the  system  with  which  it  is  con- 
nected, which  is  man's  abode,  to  whom  the  revela- 
tion is  s^^ecially  made. 

St.  Augustine  speaks  of  the  periods  called  days,* 
in  the  English  version  of  the  Bible,  which  relate  to 
23reparing  the  earth  for  man,  and  which  refer  to 
time  and  events  long  after  the  original  creation  of 
matter,  as  "  six  different  jpr ogresses. ^^  And  the  re- 
capitulation of  the  subsequent  work  of  creation 
(Gen.  ii.  4)  calls  them  "The  Generations  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  when  they  were  created,  in 
the  day  that  the  Lord  God  made  the  heavens  and 
the  earth."  This  seems  to  show  that  the  word  ren- 
dered day  is  a  period  in  the  calendar  of  God  and 
not  of  man.  Generations  denote  successive  off- 
springs, or  ages  following  one  another. 

*  City  of  God,  Book  20. 


24  CEEATION,    AS   SEEN 

The  Bible  couples  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
together  in  its  account  of  creation  ;  but  it  implies, 
by  the  phraseology  and  grammatical  construction, 
that  there  were  a  plurality  of  successive  progressions. 
What  they  were  we  know  not.  There  is  no  light 
from  either  revelation  intense  enough  to  penetrate 
the  dark  abyss. 

Human  language  is  an  imperfect  medium  to  ex- 
press Divine  mysteries.  When  man  speaks  of  crea- 
tion he  associates  with  it  the  idea  of  materiality, 
that  which  is  sensible  to  human  feeling ;  yet  the 
most  powerful  natural  agents  are  imponderable  and 
imperceptible  to  the  senses. 

Creation  is  a  manifestation  of  God ;  the  theatre 
on  which  He  exercised  His  spiritual  power.  It  is 
the  material  out  of  which  He  created,  and  is  creating 
immortal  beings,  and  on  which  He  is  training  and 
educating  them.  It  is  not  surprising  that  man  in 
his  present  state,  partaking  so  largely  of  matter, 
should  not  be  able  to  understand  all  its  mysteries. 
If,  to  any  mind,  creation  seems  imperfect,  it  is  not 
because  it  is  so,  but  because  man  himself  is  imper- 
fect, a  fallen  being,  and  his  original  capability  to 
comprehend  it  has  been  impaired. 

The  natural  revelation  perfectly  agrees  with  all 
the  comprehensible  intimations  of  the  written.  Out 
of  inanimate  matter  God  made  man.  He  was  an 
original  work,  a  perfect  being,  the  wisest  and  noblest, 
except  the  Son  of  God  and  man,  who  ever  lived. 
He  was  created  to  be  lord  of  the  earth.  And  in 
him  was  accomplished,  as  will  be  by  and  by  shown, 
one  of  the  progressive  changes  through  which  mat- 


BY    REVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  25 

ter  lias  gone  on,  its  mysterions  progress  to  perfection 
and  immortality. 

In  the  very  beginning,  the  love,  and  power,  and 
wisdom  of  God  overflowed,  and  the  resnlt  was  crea- 
tion. For  a  moment  does  not  this  seem  to  lift  the  veil, 
and  give  ns  a  glimpse  into  the  depths  of  the  adora- 
ble life  of  God  ?  Blessed  be  His  most  holy  and 
dread  Xame,  and  blessed  be  His  condescension  in 
the  mystery  of  creation  !  We  need  say  nothing  of 
the  surpassing  beauty,  or  of  the  varied  magnificence 
of  creation.  We  need  not  even  try  to  fathom  that 
other  incomparable  mystery,  that  God  created  out 
of  nothing,  matter  out  of  nothing^  "  and  by  a  single 
effort  of  His  own  will  swung  huge  solar  systems  up 
in  the  loose  void  of  homeless  space  ;  '■  s^pirit  out  of 
nothing^  "  and  has  ever  since  been  working  crea- 
ted matter  into  eternal  mind,  deathless  souls  out 
of  nothing  every  minute  of  the  day  and  night,  and 
every  one  of  these  souls  by  itself  is  more  wonderful 
and  important  than  the  whole  of  the  material  world. 
We  need  do  nothing  more  than  walk  on  the  brink 
of  creation,  and  look  over  into  the  depths  of  that 
foregoing  eternity,  when  the  Three  in  One  alone 
was,  ever  Blessed  and  Glorious,  and  muse  on  the 
mere  fact  of  the  interruption  of  that  eternity  by  cre- 
ation, and  we  shall  see  how  excellent  and  Divine  a 
mystery  it  is,  so  full  of  God^  so  radiant  with  His 
innumerable  perfections,  and  all  lying  in  the  golden 
light  of  the  Sun  of  Justice,  who  was  not  yet  to  rise 
for  thousands  of  long  expectant  years.  That  mystery 
is  OUT  mother^  for  out  of  it  are  we  come  ourselves^ 
nay,  the  creation  of  our  own  souls  but  a  few  years 
ago  was  a  portion  of  its  perpetual  continuity." 


26  CREATION, 

The  single  act  of  the  creation  of  the  earth,  shows 
the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Creator  as  undeniably 
as  our  whole  solar  system.  And  if  man  had  been 
created  with  powers  of  vision  incapable  of  seeing 
beyond  the  horizon  of  his  own  world,  there  is  enough 
here  to  convince  liim,  that  there  is  an  Almighty  and 
all  Bountiful  God ;  enough  to  inspire  him  with  love 
and  adoration.  But,  that  he  has  larger  capabilities, 
not  only  to  see,  but  also  to  learn  much  of  other 
worlds,  is  a  strong  indication  of  the  regard  of  his 
Creator. 

Science  teaches  that  the  sun  and  planets  are  vast 
material  bodies,  similar  to  the  earth,  connected  by 
a  common  law  of  gravitation,  and  subject  to  a  com- 
mon law  of  rotation  on  their  axes.  But  the  great 
distance  of  the  nearest  satellite,  our  own  moon,  and 
the  insurmountable  barrier  of  the  intervening  space, 
which  no  human  ingenuity  can  ever  overcome,  pre- 
vents us  from  learning  much  from  science  alone. 

The  mind  struggles  to  find  some  clue  in  the  dis- 
tant worlds  to  the  origin  of  matter.  Whence  it 
came?  Whether  inhabited?  And  if  so,  what  the 
nature  of  the  inhabitants  ?  And  what  its  and  their 
future  destiny  ?  But  neither  observation  nor  expe- 
rience throw  any  satisfactory  light  on  these  myste- 
ries. 

Glasses  have  been  invented,  which  help  the  eye 
to  travel  millions  of  miles  into  the  outworks  of  God, 
millions  of  miles  beyond  the  sun,  and  to  unveil  new 
worlds  in  the  clusters  of  light,  which,  on  the  out- 
skirts of  creation,  hide  nests  of  starry  worlds  from 
unassisted  human  vision.     Yet,  these  bring  back  no 


BY    REVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  27 

clue  to  the  origin  of  tlie  matter  of  tlie  universe,  much 
less  as  to  its  inhabitants. 

Ideas  of  the  size,  density,  inclination  of  their 
poles,  the  periods  of  their  revolution,  and  the  atmos- 
pheres of  other  worlds  have  been  obtained  ;  but  of 
their  inhabitants  not  a  satisfactory  conjecture.  The 
profoundest  astronomer  is  compelled  to  acknowledge 
with  the  pious  Psalmist :  "  Such  knowledge  is  too 
wonderful  for  me  ;  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto 
it."  All  that  man  can  learn  of  these  mysteries  is  to 
be  gleaned  from  the  Bible. 

Man  has  always  known  that  the  earth  belonged 
to  a  great  solar  system  of  worlds ;  but  modern  dis- 
coveries prove  that  the  system  itself  is  not  an  inde- 
pendent or  fixed  one,  but  a  part  of  the  universe. 
As  our  planetary  system  moves  round  the  sun,  so  is 
the  sun  and  all  its  worlds  moving  through  space  with 
a  determined  direction  and  velocity. 

Sir.  D*  Brewster  says,  "This  great  cosmical 
truth,  the  greatest  in  astronomy,  furnishes  a  new 
argument  for  the  plurality  of  worlds  ;  "  it  may  be 
added,  that  it  is  a  vastly  more  powerful  one  for  the 
immensity  of  creation,  and  the  unity  of  matter. 

That  the  sun  is  in  motion  is  proven  by  one  of 
the  ways  by  wdiich  the  earth's  motion  round  the  sun 
is  proven. 

The  observer  notices  night  by  night,  that  the 
earth  seems  to  be  approaching  some  stars  and  reced- 
ing from  others.  This  difference  constantly  increases 
until  it  returns  to  the  point  at  which  the  observa- 
tion began.  This  com^^letes  her  yearly  cycle  or 
orbit  around  the  sun.     And  it  is  an  inference,  from 


28  CREATION,    AS    SEEN 

tlie  so-called  "  proper  motion  "  of  tlie  fixed  stars, 
that  the  sun,  by  a  similar  law,  is  advancing  towards 
a  point  in  the  constellation  Hercules.^ 

'*  To  that  now  dark  and  mysterious  centre,"  says 
Sir.  D.  Brewster,  "  from  which  no  ray  however  feeble 
shines,  w^e  may  in  another  age,  i^oint  our  telescopes, 
detecting,  perchance,  the  great  luminary  which  con- 
trols our  system,  and  bend  its  jDath  into  the  vast 
orbit,  which  man,  in  the  whole  cycle  of  his  race  {Tie 
means  his  mortal  career)  may  never  be  allowed  to 
round.  If  the  buried  relics  of  primeval  life  have 
taught  us  how  brief  has  been  our  tenure  of  this  ter- 
restrial paradise,  compared  with  its  occupancy  by 
the  brutes  that  perish,  the  grand  sidereal  truth 
which  we  have  been  expounding  impresses  upon  us 
the  no  less  humbling  lesson,  that  from  the  birth  of 
man  to  the  extinction  (mortal)  of  his  race,  the  sys- 
tem to  which  he  belongs  will  have  described  but  an 
infinitesimal  arc  in  that  grand  cosmical  orbit  in  which 
it  is  destined  to  revolve.  If  reason  ever  falters  be- 
neath the  weight  of  its  own  conceptions,  it  is  under 
this  overwhelming  idea  of  time  and  space." 

Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  creation  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  fact,  that  "  the  glorious  sun,  the  cen- 
tre and  soul  of  our  system,  is  nearly  nine  hundred 
thousand  miles  in  diameter,  above  one  hundred 
times  the  diameter  of  our  globe,  and  five  hundred 
times  the  bulk  of  all  the  planets  put  together." 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  Maedler,  who  is  one  of  the  greatest 
astronomers  that  ever  lived,  and  has  given  the  subject  of  the  central  sun 
of  the  universe  special  attention,  has  come  to  the  conclusion,  that 
"Alcyone,  principal  star  in  the  group  known  as  Pleiades,"  is  the 
grand  point  around  which  the  whole  starry  universe  is  revolving. 


BY    REVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  29 

And  if  it  were  required  to  pass  the  sun  between  tlie 
moon  and  the  earth,  they  woukl  have  to  be  separa- 
ted to  about  four  times  their  present  distance,  to 
make  room  for  it. 

That  majestic  orb  turns  on  its  axis  like  the  earth, 
but  takes  over  twenty-five  days  to  make  one  such 
revohition  as  the  earth  makes  in  a  less  number  of 
hours.  And,  "  it  throws  off  its  light  with  a  velocity 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety  two  thousand  miles  in  a 
second,"  sending  billions  of  billions  of  rays  into 
space,  illumining,  refreshing,  and  adorning  many 
worlds  besides  our  own. 

To  think  of  such  a  body  in  motion,  is  overwhelm- 
ing. But  when  to  this  is  added,  that  it  is  travelling 
round  a  centre  of  its  own,  so  distant  as  to  be  undis- 
cernible  by  the  most  powerful  glasses,  the  mind  gets 
a  larger  idea  of  the  immeasurable  grandeur  of  the 
universe. 

"When  we  further  reflect,  that  the  most  distant 
known  planet  in  the  solar  system  is  "  nearly  three 
thousand  millions  of  miles  from  the  sun,"  and  is  over 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  calendar  years  in  going 
round  it,  while  travelling  with  incredible  speed,  a 
larger  view  of  the  subject  is  obtained. 

But  when  to  these  the  fact  is  added,  that  the  sun 
itself,  with  its  majestic  train  of  worlds,  is  yearly 
advancing  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
millions  of  miles  towards  a  distant  point  in  space ; 
and  that  other  solar  systems  stretch  away  far  beyond 
the  circumference  the  sun  is  describing  in  its  yet 
unknown  orbit;  and  that  all  these  are  probably 
travelling  round  some  central  point  in  the  universe, 


30  CREATION,    AS    SEEN 

probably  the  tbrone  of  the  Eternal  Creator,  the  mind 
is  paralyzed  in  its  effort  to  grasp  sncli  a  whole. 

Man  is  incapable  of  forming  an  idea  of  space,  in 
which  God  has  set  in  motion  His  magnificent  do- 
main of  created  worlds,  which  are  accomplishing 
His  almost  unknown  purposes  with  the  precision  of 
a  perfectly  Divine  mechanism. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  nearest  fixed  stars  are 
four  hundred  thousand  times  further  from  the  earth 
than  it  is  from  the  sun.  A  cannon  ball,  travelling 
with  the  velocity  it  has  when  shot  from  a  gun  in  the 
earth's  atmosphere,  would  take  about  nine  millio7is 
of  years  to  reach  them.  Light,  which  moves  twelve 
millions  of  miles  a  minute,  is  six  years  in  coming  to 
the  earth  from  them.  With  such  magnitudes  the 
human  mind  has  nothing  to  institute  comparisons. 

Ancient  history  and  traditions  of  mankind  indi- 
cate that  the  opinion  has  always  been  current,  that 
the  earth  is  a  connected  part  of  a  common  universe. 
This  truth,  however,  has  never  been  brought  out 
with  its  present  clearness  until  modern  times.  In- 
deed, what  other  truth  has  ?  It  has,  like  all  truth, 
human  and  Divine,  had  its  periods  of  growth  and 
rest,  and  then  of  growth  again  like  the  oak  and  long- 
lived  trees ;  like  all  Gods  works,  for  truth  is  a  Rev- 
elation from  Him ;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and 
after  that  the  full  corn.  It  is  the  law  of  God  in  bc^h 
the  natural  and  spiritual  worlds :  in  all  His  words 
and  all  His  works. 

Many  great  cosmical  truths,  known  to  the  world 
before  Greece  or  Rome  were  founded,  have  come  to 
be  fully  understood,  in  post-diluvial  ages,  only  since 
the  revival  of  learning. 


BY    KEVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  31 

The  Bible  teaches,  that  the  great-grandsons  of 
Adam  made  harps  and  organs,  and  were  skilful 
workers  of  iron  and  brass.  An  age  in  which  music 
is  cultivated,  and  iron  and  brass  used,  indicates  a 
high  civilization.  This  was  within  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years  after  Adam's  creation.  The  knowl- 
edge, therefore,  must  have  been  communicated 
directly  by  God  to  Adam,  and  by  him  to  his  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren. 

Man's  original  condition,  therefore,  was  one  of 
high  civilization  and  knowledge.*  Towards  the 
close  of  the  Adamic  dispensation,  man,  having  re- 
lapsed from  God,  grew  brutal  and  ignorant.  Tlie 
deluge  was  sent  as  a  punishment,  because  "man 
had  corrupted  his  ways."  Noah  and  his  family 
escaped  the  general  declension,  w^ere  saved  fi-om  that 
terrible  catastrophe,  and  carried  across  the  flood  the 
fragments  of  knowledge  which  survived,  and  were 
by  him  preserved  from  destruction.  This  is  evident, 
because  the  emj^ires  of  Assyria  and  Babylon,  of 
Egypt  and  China,  founded  by  his  grandsons,  each 
had  a  knowledge  of  astronomy  and  the  true  system 
of  the  universe. 

It  is  certain  the  stars  were  classed  into  constella- 
tions twelve  hundred  years  before  our  Lord's  advent, 
and  four  hundred  before  the  fabulous  founders  of 
Eome  are  said  to  have  been  born.  And  the  names 
given  them  before  the  times  of  Job,  Abram,  and 

*  Some  fragments  of  that  higher  knowledge  were  preserved  by  tra- 
dition, or  revived  by  our  Lord,  in  the  apostolic  age.  One  example  is, 
the  fall  of  the  angels,  their  expulsion  from  heaven,  and  reservation  to 
a  final  judgment  and  hell.  This  docti-ine  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
Old  Testament. 


32  CKEATION,    AS    8EEN 

Homer,  are  the  same  which  some  of  them  noAv  have. 
Six  hmidred  years  before  Christ,  the  Chinese  liad 
celestial  charts  with  more  than  a  thousand  stars  cor- 
rectly inserted,  and,  one  hundred  yeai-s  later,  Pytha- 
goras taught  the  Greeks  the  true  theory  of  our  solar 
system. 

That  system  was  probably  revealed  by  God  to 
Adam.  God  gave  the  names  to  land  and  water  ;'^ 
and  also  to  the  stars  ;t  and  the  Ash,  Cesil,  and  Cimah 
of  Job,:}:  translated  by  the  Septuagint  two  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  years  before  Christ,  Arcturus, 
Orion,  and  Pleiades,  may  be  the  names  given  them 
by  their  Creator. 

It  seems  impossible  for  man  to  have  discovered 
the  system  at  first,  or  even  to  have  revived  it  after 
it  was  lost,  toithout  some  clue  to  it.  Such  a  clue  has 
always  existed,  at  iirst,  in  sculpture  and  monuments, 
which,  when  knowledge  declined  and  nations 
perished,  outlived  them. 

The  system  has  been  more  than  once  lost  for  a 
time.  But,  when  learning  revived,  and  new  stages 
of  progress  were  made,  the  stony  records  delivered 
up  their  secret,  and  the  true  theory  lived  again. 
Josephus,§  wdio  wrote  eighteen  hundred  years  ago, 
fully  confirms  this  opinion,  saying,  that  the  sons  of 
Adam  had  a  knoivledge  of  "  the  heavenly  bodies  and 
their  order^^  and  recorded  it  "  on  stones^^  wdiich 
were  extant  in  his  time.  In  later  ages  the  manu- 
scripts of  the  learned  served  the  same  purj)ose  as 
the  preceding  monuments.    Such  was  the  case  at  the 

*  Geu.  i.  10.  t  Isa.  xl.  26.  %  Job  xxxviii.  31,  32. 

§  Aiitiq.  lib.  1,  cap.  1,  sec.  3. 


BY    REVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  33 

Kevival  of  Letters  in  the  fourteenth  century,  when 
Cardinal  Cusa  discovered  and  promulgated  the  doc- 
trines which  Aristarchus  had  received  from  Pythag- 
oras, and  which  Copernicus  afterwards  digested  into 
the  system  which  bears  his  name. 

The  Chinese  charts,  the  monuments  of  Egypt, 
and  the  recently  dug  up  records  of  ancient  Assyria, 
prove  that  the  world  has  always  had  something  be- 
sides tradition,  to  preserve  the  true  theory  of  the 
great  cosmical  system  of  the  universe.  And  they 
fully  warrant  the  belief,  that  the  original  condition 
of  man  was  one  of  enlightenment,  and  that  the  true 
theory  of  the  universe  was  directly  given  by  God 
to  Adam ;  and  is  one  of  the  few  items  of  primeval 
revelation,  which  has  escaped  all  the  catastrophes 
through  which  the  race  has  passed,  on  its  marvel- 
lous pilgrimage  to  eternity. 

Creation  was  designed  by  Cod  to  make  known 
His  attributes  to  all  intelligent  beings.  Wherever 
there  is  mind  the  same  lesson  is  learnt  from  it,  that 
is  learned  by  man.  It  is  God's  great  Silent  Teacher, 
as  Jesus  is  His  great  Audible  Teacher  ;  both  con- 
vey the  same  lesson  and  shadow  forth  God  and  His 
kingdom  of  glory. 

St.  Paul  says,  "  The  invisiUe  things  of  God 
from  the  creatioyi  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen, 
heing  understood  hj  the  things  which  are  madeP 
The  animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable  kingdoms  of 
earth  are  reflections  upon  matter  of  the  glorious, 
and  unspeakable  divisions  of  God's  everlasting 
kingdom  of  glory,  and  a  foreshadowing  to  man  of 
the  realities  of  the  life  to  come.  The  sun,  moon, 
2* 


34: 


and  stars,  and  all  the  precious  things  of  the  earth, 
are  employed  in  revelation  as  figures  to  represent 
the  glories  of  man's  future  abode.  And  even  the 
sun,  its  glorious  centre,  and  the  source  of  all  its 
life  and  beauty,  it  is  said  will  not  be  needed  there. 
Creation  connects  man  with  that  kingdom,  and  time 
is  rapidly  conducting  him  to  it. 

In  all  this  shadowing  forth  of  God  and  his  king- 
dom of  glory,  there  is  a  remarkable  adaptation  of 
the  knowledge  to  man's  nature  and  capacity.  It  is 
so  revealed  as  to  inspire  the  desire  to  hnoio  more  * 
and  also  to  give  a  due  by  w^hich  to  understand  His 
other  revelations.  God  is  hidden  in  creation,  and 
we  can  find  in  it  no  explanation  of  its  mysteries. 
This  is  a  lesson  to  prepare  us  for  the  study  of  His 
Word  and  Incarnation.  An  infinitely  w4se  God 
must  be  consistent  in  all  His  doings.  Thus  crea- 
tion trains  us  Jiow  to  learn  of  God. 

Creation  is  represented  in  the  Bible  as  having  a 
past,  present,  and  future  history.  Its  past,  so  far  as 
man  is  specially  interested,  he  knows.  Its  present, 
he  is  in  some  degree  influencing.  Its  future,  re- 
lating to  himself  and  other  beings  and  worlds,  is 
foretold  in  the  New  Testament.  And  a  proper  un- 
derstanding of  the  works  of  God  can  be  obtained 
only  by  the  study  of  His  Word,  which  is  their  in- 
terpreter. 

There  is  an  intimate  connection  between  God's 
three  kingdoms  of  Nature,  Grace,  and  Glory.  The 
Incarnation  is  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of 
grace,  and  the  connecting  link  between  the  two 
others.    What  this  mysterious  relationship  between 


BY    REVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  35 

these  grand  divisions  of  the  universe  is,  time  and 
fulfilling  prophecy  are  fast  revealing.  They  are 
quickening  to  full  development  the  knowledge  of 
the  (as  yet)  "  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,"  which 
is  "  to  make  all^  Trdvre^,  see  "  (not  all  raen^  as  in 
the  English  version  of  the  Scriptures,  but  all  intel- 
ligent heings  of  the  whole  creation)  "  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  GodP  This  is  evidently  the  true  inter- 
pretation, because  the  Apostle  immediately  adds, 
"  to  the  intent^  that  now  unto  Princijyalities  and 
Powers  in  heavenly  worlds^  iv  rot?  eirovpavioL';^  might 
be  hnown  hy  the  Church^''  (which  was  developed  by 
the  Incarnation,  and  is  the  last  and  highest  residt  of 
creation^  as  seen  by  the  human  mind,  from  the 
standing  point  of  earth,)  "  the  manifold  wisdom  of 
God:' 

Revelation  teaches  that  all  creation,  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  have  been  defiled  by  sin,  and  that 
both  are  to  be  burned  wdth  fire.  When  they  have 
accomplished  God's  purposes,  they  will  be  knocked 
away  like  a  worthless  scafi'olding. 

Before  sin  entered  creation  all  was  good,  all  was 
in  harmony  with  God.  But  now  the  whole  creation 
"  groans"  under  the  curse  of  sin.  The  whole  king- 
dom of  nature  has  felt  the  penalty  of  the  violation 
of  the  Creator's  laws  by  its  inhabitants.  The  earth 
was  cursed  for  man's  sin  ;  and  the  heavenly  worlds, 
possibly,  are  to  suffer  the  same  penalty  for  the 
an^rels'  sin.  The  future  of  creation  will  be  Re- 
demption  from  the  curse.  Revelation  speaks  of  a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness,   when   those    which   now   are   have 


36  CREATION,    AS   SEEN 

passed  away.  And  they  are  mysteriously  connected 
with  the  present  Christian  Dispensation  ;  and  to  be 
the  abode  of  those  who  in  this  world  received  the 
benefits  of  Christ's  Incarnation.  That  benefit  was 
to  change  them  from  mortal  to  immortal  beings  : 
from  a  state  of  nature  to  a  state  of  grace,  which 
fits  for  the  kingdom  of  glory,  "  over  which  God 
reigned  before  creation  began,"  and  which  He  cre- 
ated immortal  beings  to  enlarge. 

That  state  will  be  one  of  the  full  Icnowledge  of 
God^  and  of  all  His  works :  where  Truth  will  be 
wiveiled,  and  God  himself,  who  is  \t^  fountain,  will 
be  no  longer  hidden.  Creation  having  been  com- 
pleted by  redemption,  there  will  be  no  more  "  im- 
perfection, and  sin  will  no  more  adhere  to  ns,  and 
there,  after  the  experience  of  millions  of  ages 
spent  in  the  enjoyment  of  heavenly  happiness, 
we  shall  be  still  advancing  in  heavenly  glory  and 
felicity,  and  attaining  to  a  higher  measure  of  the 
increasing  strength,  and  ever  growing  splendor  of 
the  sons  of  God.*' 

The  whole  mechanism  of  creation,  so  far  as  man 
can  see  and  judge,  appears  to  be  contrived  so  as  to 
picture  to  him  a  higher  and  better  state.  His  own 
world  seems  to  him  opaque  ;  others  are  luminous. 
It  is  diminutive  in  size ;  others  are  immense  in 
comparison.  It  is  covered  with  deserts  and  oceans, 
with  thorns  and  briers,  and  subject  to  earthquakes 
and  storms,  and  sickness  and  death,  which  show  its 
imperfection,  while  alt  God's  undisturbed  works  are 
perfect. 

And  every  part  of  creation,  to  the  very  dust 


BY    REVELATION    AND    SCIENCE.  37 

and  watei",  the  oil  and  wine  of  the  earth,  has  a 
mysterious  relation  to  the  Xew  Creation,  which  was 
to  be  created  out  of  the  Incarnation  of  its  Lord. 
All  eartlily  things  are  symbols,  and  shadows,  and 
sacraments,  of  "  heavenly  realities  ;  and  between 
the  two  there  is  a  continuous  harmony  and  corres- 
pondence." God  placed  Adam  lord  over  all  earthly 
things.  Its  living  creatures  were  all  in  subjection 
to  him,  and  this  is  a  type  of  the  absolute  dominion 
which  he  is  to  have  with  Christ,  his  "  elder  Brother," 
in  the  !NeAv  Creation  wdiich  is  to  follow  the  present 
one. 

In  creation  God  and  the  future  are  dimly  seen. 
Matter  is  a  thick  veil  to  hide  Him  from  man.  But 
He  is  every  where  in  it.  There  is  no  particle 
of  it  that  has  not  felt  His  power  and  wisdom ;  not 
one  but  manifests  them.  Man's  education  begins 
w4th  the  study  of  the  works  of  creation,  and  there 
he  learns  his  first  lessons  of  God.  And  no  one  can 
study  this  theme,  as  connected  with  theology,  with- 
out having  his  mind  "  lifted  far  above  all  earthly 
things,  and  his  heart  burning  within  him  w^ith  in- 
creased desires  of  his  heavenly  country." 

If  it  be  said  that  man  learns  his  first  lesson  from 
his  mother's  eyes  and  lips,  it  is  answered  that  God 
created  and  contrived  them  to  begin  the  training  of 
the  young  soul  to  love.  This  is  the  lesson  of  all 
creation  and  of  Revelation,  which  declares  that 
"  God  is  love,"  and  of  the  Incarnation,  which  shoivs 
His  love  unto  death  for  man. 

The  next  lesson  is  from  mother  earth  and  the 
starry  sky,  which   attract  the  youthful  mind,  and 


38  CKEA.TION,  AS    SEEN   BY   REVELATION,  ETO. 

awaken  its  curiosity  to  know  whence  they  came  ? 
And  having  learned  this,  to  ask,  "Who  made 
God  ?  "     Creation  cannot  answer  the  question. 

The  last  great  lesson  man  learns  from  creation  is 
the  humbling  one,  that  he  w^as  created  out  of  the 
ground  and  is  destined  to  return  to  it ;  that  he  can- 
not live  but  by  feeding  on  its  products,  and  has 
notliing  but  what  is  given  him  by  his  Creator. 
Thus  anotlier  Revelation  was  necessary  to  teach 
who  the  Creator  is. 

He  learns  that  from  the  next  Revelation,  and 
also  learns  that  man,  to  the  degradation  of  his 
nothingness,  "  has  added  the  guilt  of  rebellion  ; " 
that  this  sundered  the  law  which  made  his  physical 
connection  with  the  earth  permanent,  caused  the 
death  of  his  body,  and  its  translation  to  another 
w^orld. 

A  moral  change,  too,  took  place  in  his  soul.  But 
God  provided  a  way  also  to  restore  that  from  its 
ruin,  and  to  reunite  it  with  the  body  in  a  future  life 
and  world.  Hence  another  Revelation  w^as  also 
necessary  to  teach  man  what  he  had  to  do^  to  be 
restored  to  the  Divine  favor,  and  how  to  prepare  for 
his  future  condition.  And  these  things  are  exactly 
what  God's  Word,  or  the  next  Revelation  proposes 
to  do. 

Tlie  whole  mechanism  of  creation  is  so  contrived 
as  to  call  into  exercise  and  harmoniously  develope 
all  the  faculties  of  the  human  soul ;  and  it  is  thus 
prepared  to  investigate  the  subtler  spiritual  truths 
revealed  in  God's  words. 


THE   WORDS    OF   GOD.  39 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    WORDS    OF   GOD. 


For  ever,  O  Lord,  Thy  Word  is  established  in  Heaven." 

The  Psalnt/ist. 


The  Revelation  of  God's  Word  begins  with  the  pre- 
fiice  of  Creation.  Moses  and  John  both  have  this 
peculiarity,  introducing  the  Word  of  God  by  say- 
ing that  He  had  before,  "  In  the  beginning  created  " 
all  things.  God  Himself  thus  connects  the  two 
Revelations  together,  and  warrants  us  to  look  for 
further  connections  and  harmonies. 

The  works  of  God  show  that  He  is  wise  and 
good.  It  is  therefore  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  He 
would  explain  to  His  creatures,  so  much  of  the  mys- 
tery of  creation,  as  is  necessary  for  their  happiness, 
and  especially  that  He  would  make  known  their 
duty. 

This  is  j)recisely  what  the  Bible  does.  It  is 
another  stage  of  the  manifestation  of  the  Creator,  a 
progressive  act  of  unveiling  Himself.     In  creation 


do 


man  sees  God's  outward  acts  ;  in  written  revelation 
he  hears  His  inward  thoughts^  and  learns  His  will. 
The  ivords  explain  the  tvorJcs,  show  the  coyinectlon 
of  man  with  hotit  God  and  creation,  and  make 
known  his  condition  and  duty,  and  the  destiny  of 
himself  and  his  world. 

Revelation  teaches  that  man  was  created  in  a 
state  of  grace,  and  fell  from  it.  It  shows  that  God 
permitted  him  to  rnn  one  great  stage  of  progress, 
guided  only  by  the  light  of  nature  and  tradition, 
and  that  he  corrupted  himself.  That  He  next  tried 
him  under  the  ministry  of  angels  and  seers,  who  de- 
livered the  spolten  words  of  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Creator  of  man  and  the  earth,  and  taught  him  how 
to  interpret  the  natural  revelation  and  return  to 
God.  And  this  with  no  better  results.  That  He 
next  established  His  kingdom  of  the  theocracy,  and 
it  soon  failed.  And  lastly,  that  by  means  of  the  In 
carnation,  man  was  able  to  rise  from  his  fallen  state 
into  one  of  grace,  whence  he  could  ascend  to  one 
of  glory,  higher  and  better  than  the  original  one 
from  which  he  fell.  There  was  salvation,  however, 
under  each  dispensation,  through  faith  in  a  Saviour 
to  cows. 

These  words  of  God  are  the  most  extraordinary 
monument  on  earth.  They  reach  back  to  all  the 
past,  and  forward  to  all  the  future  history  of  crea- 
tion, so  far  as  it  relates  to  man.  And  they  are  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  works  of  God. 

It  is  the  same  Being  sjpeaMng  there,  who  created 
the  universe.  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  the  wind, 
water,  and  dry  land  ;  the  animals,  plants,  and  min- 


THE   WORDS    OF    GOD.  41 

erals  ;  the  fruits,  flowers,  and  products  of  the  earth 
are  all  used  in  elucidating  or  explaining  the  words. 

By  the  comparisons  and  analogies  drawn  from 
creation,  the  mind  is  carried  to  the  highest  concep- 
tions of  the  Creator.  A  supernatural  utterance  is 
given  them  b j  the  words  ;  and  they  convey  heaven- 
ly truth  to  the  mind  so  forcibly,  that  it  is  convinced 
by  this  fact  alone,  that  the  God  of  Creation  is  speak- 
ing of  His  own  works. 

The  Bible  is  the  only  book  in  the  world  which 
claims  to  utter  its  Creator'' s  own  words^  resting  its 
authority  on  this  fact,  saying,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord 

thy  Creator." "I  have  made  the  earth  and 

created  man  upon  it," therefore,  "Hear 

ye  children  of  men."  It  has  a  grandeur,  and  a  pe- 
culiar tone  and  style,  which  belong  to  no  writings 
of  man.  It  differs  from  all  other  compositions  in 
the  fact,  that  its  words  have  often  two  or  three 
meanings  to  a  single  sentence,  running  parallel  with 
one  another,  referring  to  the  past,  present,  or  future, 
and  each  one  strictly  true.  And  it  makes  known 
attributes  of  God  which  it  was  impossible  to  mani- 
fest by  creation  alone. 

Another  proof  that  the  God  of  Creation  is  the 
author  of  Revelation,  is,  that  there  is  the  same  char- 
acteristic of  hiddenness  in  the  words,  that  is  every 
where  discernihle  in  the  worl<^s.  God  hid  Himself 
in  creation  to  awaken  inquiry,  and  He  hides  Him- 
self in  Revelation  to  answer  the  inquiry.  It  is  an 
example  of  the  paradoxes  which  constantly  occur 
in  both  words  and  works. 

The  Eevelation  begins  without  a  personal  allu- 


42 


sion.  In  the  first  law  of  Paradise  God  hid  Himself 
behind  the  proliibition  to  eat  the  fniit  of  a  single 
tree.  After  the  fall,  He  hid  Himself  from  Adam  at 
first  in  the  bowers  of  Eden,  and  then  for  ever  with- 
drew His  Personal  Presence.  Again  He  hid  Him- 
self in  the  first  prophetical  promise  to  Eve,  that  her 
seed  should  bruise  her  tempter's  head.  He  hid 
Himself  behind  the  patriarchal  ofi'erings  of  blood 
and  sacrifice.  He  hid  Himself  from  all  the  world 
but  JSToah  and  his  family,  when  He  commanded  the 
ark  to  be  built.  He  hid  Himself  in  the  Tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness  ;  in  the  Shechinah  in  the  Temple, 
and  in  the  words  of  the  prophets  in  the  Synagogues. 

All  these  hidings  have  their  correspondents  in 
the  natural  world.  In  time  the  meaning  of  those 
hidings  became  apparent.  The  silent  word  of  God 
formed,  in  the  laboratory  of  nature,  the  gold,  and 
iron,  and  coal,  the  minerals  and  precious  stones, 
which,  after  being  hidden  for  millions  of  ages,  are 
now  forwarding  the  mighty  intellectual  impulse  of 
the  present  generations  of  men.  In  both  cases  all 
had  reference  to  the  liappiness  and  progress  of  man. 
Even  the  great  mystery  of  creation  has  its  counter- 
part in  the  Word,  in  the  unspeakable  mystery  of 
the  adorable  Trinity.  There  is  a  marvellous  con- 
currence in  all  these  analogies. 

But  God  has  hidden  Himself  in  this  AYord  in 
another  extraordinary  way  by  seeming  to  sandion 
violations  of  His  own  laivs.  He  commanded  Abra- 
ham to  sacrifice  his  son  ;  and  gave  the  Hebrews  an 
apparent  unjust  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan. 
Kebekah  and  Jacob  see^n  to  go  unreproved  for  de- 


THE    WOKDS    OF    GOD.  43 

ceiving  Isaac,  and  dejDriving  Esau  of  his  blrtli- 
riglit ;  the  Hebrews  for  spoiling  the  Egyptians  of 
their  jewels  ;  and  Kachel  for  stealing  her  father's 
idols  ;  and  such  like  examples.  All  this,  at  a  super- 
ficial glance,  looTcs  like  sanctioning  dishonesty.  But 
they  are  only  veils  wdiich  God  has  spread  over  His 
Word  to  conceal  Himself  from  the  unheUemiig. 
Such  persons  think  God  is  like  themselves,  "  a  man, 
that  He  should  lie."  But  He  says,  "  My  thoughts 
are  not  as  your  thoughts,  nor  My  ways  as  your 
ways." 

God  did  not  intend  that  Abraham  should  kill  his 
son ;  it  w^as  an  act  proposed  to  try  his  faith.  The 
other  acts  were  done  not  by  God's  command,  but 
in  express  violation  of  His  laws.  They  are  men- 
tioned not  as  being  approved  by  God,  but  as  simple 
facts  of  history.  If  those  who  did  the  wicked  deeds 
had  remembered  God's  laws  and  dealings  with  their 
forefathers,  they  would  have  perceived  their  crimi- 
nality, and  that  they  were  entirely  unsanctioned  hy 
Him.     They  were  afterwards  punished  for  them. 

God  is  not  to  be  judged  but  by  His  own  acts  and 
laws.  When  it  can  be  shown  that  a  single  one  of 
either  sanction  dishonesty  or  unholiness,  then  He 
may,  I  speak  it  with  reverence,  be  condemned. 
These  human  failings  are  recorded  to  shoio  the  na- 
ture of  7nan,  and  that  oione  hut  God  is  perfect. 

The  Bible  is  the  history  of  man  written  by  God. 
And  the  fact  that  his  failings  are  so  frankly  recorded 
is  an  evidence  that  its  Author  h  perfect  truth,  and 
that  the  men  and  women  there  described  are  not 
mythical perso7is,h\it  true,  natural  men  and  women, 


44 


Rejpresentatwes  of  the  Race,  such  as  all  true  histo- 
ries describe,  and  such  as  exist  at  the  present  day, 
prone  to  evil,  and  constantly  going  astray,  even 
while  striving  to  love  and  obey  God. 

If  the  men  of  the  Bible  were  perfect,  it  would 
be  a  reasonable  conclusion  that  they  were  fictitious  ; 
and  if  they  were,  they  would  not  answer  the  pur- 
pose for  which  their  biographies  were  written,  to 
be  a  rule  of  action  or  warning  to  others.  It  j)osi- 
tively  declares  that  all  mankind  has  fallen,  that 
there  is  not  one  good^  and  the  men  of  the  Bible  and 
the  living  men  of  our  own  age,  perfectly  agree  with 
its  declaration. 

Whenever  examples  of  wickedness  are  recorded 
in  the  Bible,  they  are  seen  to  be  in  direct  violation 
of  its  laws.  They  are  not  preserved  because  they 
are  approved  by  God,  but  as  a  warning  for  man. 
And  these  examples,  instead  of  proving  any  thing 
against  Revelation,  are  convincing  proofs,  that  it  is 
indeed  the  Word  of  God  who  created  man. 

The  judgments  of  modern  infidelity  on  these  sup- 
posed instances  of  immorality  in  the  Bible,  remind 
one  of  God's  words  to  an  older  infidelity :  "  These 
things  hast  thou  done,  and  I  kept  silence ;  thou 
thoughtest  that  I  was  altogether  such  an  one  as  thy- 
self; but  I  will  reprove  thee  and  set  them  in  order 
before  thine  eyes.  ]^ow  consider  this  ye  that  for- 
get God^  lest  I  tear  you  injpieces^  and  there  he  none 
to  deliver. '^^ 

The  historical  parts  of  the  Bible  are  simple  nar- 
ratives of  man's  ways,  and  God's  dealings  with  him. 
It  is  so  much  experience  laid  up  as  a  warning  and 


THE   WORDS    OF   GOD.  45 

guide  to  other  generations,  to  teach  them  how  to 
serve  their  Creator,  and  to  avoid  the  failings  of 
those  who  had  gone  before  them.  It  expressly  says 
so :  "  Whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime, 
were  written  for  our  instruction."  It  is  more  *'  nar- 
rative than  didactic,"  and  not  a  "  systematic  body 
of  teaching ; "  not  such  a  Eevelation  as  the  human 
mind  would  have  made,  jQt  j[)erfectly  adapted  to  the 
mind  and  nature  of  man.  "  It  is  the  most  unex- 
pected kind  of  book  which  could  be  conceived  ;  a 
system  of  hieroglyphics,  and  Jesus  (the  Creator  of 
the  world)  is  the  key  to  it  all." 

The  Words  of  God  have  probably  other  objects 
to  accomplish  in  other  worlds.  They  probably 
make  known  there  more  of  both  creation  and  re- 
dem23tion,  so  that  what  man  knows  of  them  is  only 
a  partial  revelation.  In  accomplishing  the  main 
object  of  teaching  man  from  whence  he  came, 
whither  he  is  bound,  and  his  obligations  to  his 
Creator,  it  necessarily  makes  known  something  of 
his  relation  to  the  other  beings  and  worlds  of  the 
universe.  Even  the  greatest  fact  of  revelation,  the 
typical  worship  of  sacrifice,  the  first  faint  shadow 
of  greater  and  better  things  to  come,  was  very  ob- 
scure in  the  beginning.  The  institution  of  sacrifice 
was  the  befi^innino^  of  the  Kino^dom  of  Grace  on 
earth,  and  it  restored  the  connection  between  the 
Kingdoms  of  Mature  and  Glory,  yet  no  account  is 
given  of  its  appointment. 

That  earliest  dispensation  was  the  germ  of  the 
Cliristian  Church  ;  like  creation  it  was  founded  by, 
and  for,  and  on  Jesus,  and,  like  the  earth,  it  attained 


4:6  REVELATION ; 

its  perfection  only  after  great  changes,  and  ages  of 
gradual  improvement.  It  began  in  a  covenant  be- 
tween God  and  Adam,  was  enlarged  with  Abraham, 
but  neither  they  nor  their  posterity  nnderstood  what 
was  to  be  its  perfected  character.  But  it  grew 
plainer,  nntil  it  enlarged  into  a  visible  theocratic 
kingdom  nnder  Moses,  and  was  at  last  ''  finished  ■ ' 
by  the  Son  of  God,  who  showed  that  his  kingdom 
was  "  not  of  this  world." 

Through  all  the  stages  of  the  kingdom  there  were 
priesthoods,  sacrifices,  and  liturgies,  having  relation 
to  unknown  heavenly  things.  God  prescribed  to 
Adam  how  to  worship  and  sacrifice ;  that  prescrip- 
tion began  the  liturgy,  which  grew  with  the  king- 
dom. Together  they  trained  man  for  a  kingdom 
not  of  this  world.  And  they  have  been  gradually 
working  the  restoration  of  man,  and  the  whole  king- 
dom of  nature  to  which  he  belongs,  and  which  has 
been  cursed  for  sin.  This  fact  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  the  Kevelation  in  God's  Word,  and  yet  is  only 
faintly  shadowed  forth.  It  shows  that  no  combina- 
tions of  circumstances,  and  no  consequences,  how- 
ever important  to  His  creatures,  ever  move  the 
Creator  to  swerve  from  His  own  way  of  doing  His 
own  work.  This  peculiarity  prevails  throughout 
His  three  great  Kingdoms  of  l^ature,  Grace,  and 
Glory,  so  far  as  they  are  known  to  man. 

The  Bible  is  the  only  book  on  earth  that  gives 
a  satisfactory  account  of  creation,  of  the  origin  of 
man,  and  his  history.  It  gives  the  o?ily  history  there 
is  of  the  human  race  before  the  Empires  of  Assyria, 
and  Egypt,  and   China  were  founded;  before  the 


THE    WOKDS    OF    GOD.  47 

Tower  of  Babel  and  the  Pyramids  were  built,  and 
the  Yedas  w^ritten.  It  comes  down  from  a  hoary 
antiquity  beyond  all  other  records.  It  is  from  God. 
It  teaches  things  concerning  God  and  man  no  where 
else  to  be  learned  ;  makes  known  that  man  is  a 
created  being,  a  free  agent,  a  temporary  denizen  of 
this  world,  and  destined  to  live  eternally  in  another 
Its  truths  are  addressed  to  him  as  a  rational  and 
accountable  being,  and  its  internal  evidence  proves 
it  the  production  of  a  more  than  human  mind. 

Moses  and  Homer  were  perhaps  nearly  contem- 
porary, but  there  is  an  infinite  distance  between  the 
characters  they  describe,  and  the  style  in  w^hich  they 
wrote.  The  jparting  of  Hector  and  Andromache, 
one  of  the  most  touching  scenes  in  the  Iliad,  falls 
far  below  the  meeting  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren. 

Tlie  sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  by  her  father  Agamem 
non,  is  wanting  in  the  deep  and  tender  pathos  of 
the  mere  offering  of  his  son  Isaac,  by  Abraham,  or 
*'  the  w^ailing  devotedness  of  Jephthah's  daughter." 

Herodotus,  called  \\\q  father  of  history,  was  later 
than  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  and  his  writings  abound 
with  truth,  elegance,  and  sweetness ;  but  they  con- 
tain much  that  is  false  and  puerile,  and  are  incom- 
parably inferior  to  the  latter. 

The  writers  of  the  Bible  lived  at  intervals  during 
fifteen  centuries,  and  in  dififerent  periods  of  enlighten- 
ment, and  some  of  them  were  uneducated  men  ;  yet 
all  write  with  equal  clearness  and  simplicity  of 
style,  and  their  writings  seem  like  the  breathings* 
of  a  single  mind,  under  dififerent  degrees  of  inspi- 
ration. 


48  REVELATION ; 

They  show  a  "  majestic  indifference  to  criticism," 
relate  their  own  failings,  and  the  faults  of  God's 
people  as  freely  as  their  virtues,  and  make  no  apol- 
ogies for  the  marvels  they  narrate.  And  their  pre- 
eminence in  these  particulars,  the  completeness  of 
their  history,  and  their  superiority  to  all  contempo- 
vsivy  historians,  can  he  accounted  for  in  no  other 
reasonable  way  than  the  one  they  themselves  give, 
that  they  spake  by  direction  of  the  Spirit  of  the 
God  who  made  man,  who  knew  how  to  describe  the 
operations  of  his  mind,  and  to  adapt  truth  to  it. 

Another  example  of  its  internal  evidence  is,  that 
its  warnings  and  promises  continue  still  to  be  j^rac- 
tical ;  its  words  continue  fresh  and  applicable  to 
everj^  successive  generation ;  continue  to  enlighten, 
quicken,  and  establish  them  in  the  truth  ;  continue 
to  delight  and  comfort  in  prosperity ;  to  support 
and  strengthen  in  adversity  ;  and  to  sustain  in 
death.  What  it  says  of  God's  wisdom  and  justice, 
of  His  love  and  truth,  and  His  eternity  and  un- 
changeableness,  was  always  true^  always  hnoioii  in 
all  worlds^  and  will  he  true  for  ever.  Jesus  the 
Creator  hath  said,  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  ray  words  shall  never ])ass  away^ 

The  world  is  intellectually  more  indebted  to  the 
Bible  than  to  all  other  sources  of  knowledge.  It  is 
the  fountain  head  of  light  and  truth,  and  the  great 
quickener  and  fertilizer  of  the  human  mind.  In- 
dividuals and  nations  rise  or  fall  in  the  scale  of 
enlightenment,  just  in  proportion  as  they  are  guided 
by  its  principles. 

Science  is  indebted  to  the  Bible.     The  ravs  of 


THE   WORDS    OF    GOD.  49 

Divine  light  which  stream  from  its  pages,  have 
given  the  mighty  im23nlse  to  the  mind  of  this  nine- 
teenth century.  They  have  called  into  play  its  full 
powers,  and  given  new  vigor  to  all  its  faculties. 
This  is  evident,  because  Bibles  were  never  before  so 
multiplied  ;  and  the  nations  which  have  them  in 
the  largest  numbers  are  the  most  elevated ;  and 
the  individuals  who  are  most  imbued  with  its 
knowledge,  and  surrounded  by  its  influences,  have 
penetrated  deepest  into  the  secret  laws  of  nature, 
and  have  pushed  their  investigations  farthest  into 
the  regions  of  sj)ace. 

It  may  be  objected  that  Laplace  and  Lagrange, 
Arago  and  Biol,  are  opposing  examples.  To  this 
it  is  answered,  that  they  were  born  in  Christian 
lands,  and  reaped  all  the  beneiits  of  Christian  civil- 
ization, if  they  were  not  believers  in  the  Divine 
Revelation,  like  Galileo  and  Kepler,  Newton  and 
Brewster,  and  the  Herschels.  It  is  enough  that  the 
learned  Mandarins  and  Brahmins,  who  have  no 
Bible,  have  comparatively  no  science. 

If  the  Bible  be  the  Word  of  God,  who  created 
the  universe  and  gave  it  its  laws,  then,  he  who  be- 
lieves this  would  be  most  likely  to  have  its  secrets 
revealed  to  him  ;  and  the  study  of  the  words  would 
be  likely  to  fit  the  mind  for  the  investigation  of  the 
worlc8. 

There  is  no  other  satisfactory  way  of  accounting 
for  the  superiority  of  modern  scientific  men,  of  the 
Christian  world,  over  the  ancient  philosophers,  but 
from  the  fact  that  they  have  a  fuller  Revelation  from 
God.  If  it  be  said  this  is  the  result  of  time  and  the 
3 


50  REVELATION ; 

progress  of  man,  it  is  answered,  that  the  progress 
can  be  plainly  traced  to  the  increasing  light  which 
has  been  radiating  from  a  clearer  understanding  of 
God's  words. 

It  was  not  until  men  learned  of  their  adoption 
as  sons  of  God,  by  the  coming  of  Christ  into  this 
world,  that  the  Holj  Ghost,  the  Enlightener,  was 
sent,  and  the  Law  written  on  every  human  soul. 
God  does  all  things  slowly.  And  this  light  has  been 
spread  abroad  by  a  gradual,  persistent,  and  con- 
stantly increasing  influence. 

In  the  arguments  and  facts  drawn  from  Revela- 
tion, two  things  must  be  borne  in  mind.  First,  that 
the  Bible  was  not  given  to  teach  science  ;  second, 
that  it  is  but  a  partial  Itevelation  of  God's  Words. 
It  is  complete  in  matters  relating  to  man's  practical 
duties ;  partial  in  doctrines  relating  to  God,  and 
to  other  beings  and  worlds.  "What  it  says  to  man 
of  God,  that  "  He  is  a  S23irit,"  it  must  say  to  the 
inhabitants  of  all  other  worlds.* 

As  creation  is  seen  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
universe,  so  must  Eevelation  be  hnown  by  them. 
The  Psalmist  says,  God's  "  words  are  from  ever- 
lasting ; "  that  they  were  "  true  from  the  begin 
ning."  These  expressions  indicate  tliat  they  have 
always  been  the  same.  The  Bible  contains  some  of 
them  ;  they  are  part  of  all  His  Words  ;  and  have  a 
connection  with  all  that  He  spake,  "from  ever- 
lasting." 

*  "  The  Word  of  the  Lord  endiireth  for  ever.  And  this  is  the 
Word  which  by  the  Gospel  is  preached  unto  you." — 1  Rt.  Peter^  i.  25. 


THE    WORDS    OF    GOD.  51 

Higlier  orders  probably  understand  the  parts 
incomprehensible  to  man.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  dijMrticular  Revelation.  It  contains  many  allu- 
sions to  other  beings  and  worlds,  and  these  are  so 
many  proofs  that  they  have  the  same  revelation  as 
ourselves.  All  these  references  show  nearly  or  re- 
motely man's  relation  to  a  past  and  future  eternity. 

It  speaks  of  creation  and  man's  connection  with 
it ;  of  his  immortality  and  of  a  future  life  and  world ; 
of  his  Kedemption  by  the  Son  of  God,  who  came 
into  this  world  from  another ;  of  other  worlds,  and 
the  condition  of  their  inhabitants,  who  are  to  be  his 
future  fellow-citizens,  and  of  the  final  destruction  of 
matter. 

These  things  are  proof  of  the  unity  of  God's 
words  ;  and  the  aggregate  doubtless  comprises  the 
constitution  and  canons  of  the  kingdom  of  glory, 
and  the  history  of  eternity.  If  there  were  not  an 
intimate  connection  hetween  man  and  his  world  and 
other  worlds  and  intelligent  beings,  there  would 
have  been  no  necessity  for  these  references  in  our 
part  of  the  revelation. 

It  claims  to  be  the  Word  of  God,  "  who  can- 
not lie."  It  teaches  man  things  he  could  not  dis- 
cover by  the  light  of  nature  and  reason  ;  spans  the 
chasm  between  earth  and  heaven ;  between  time 
and  eternity  ;  between  man  and  superior  beings, 

"Where  sight  and  reason  fail.  Revelation  comes 
to  their  help ;  all  it  says  of  man  and  the  earth  is 
true,  so  far  as  known ;  it  is  therefore  reasonable  to 
conclude,  that  all  which  it  says  of  other  beings  and 
worlds  is  equally  so. 


52  REVELATION ; 

If  the  doctrine  of  unitj  be  true,  then  all  that 
man  could  reasonarbly  expect  in  a  revelation  from 
God,  he  being,  as  it  teaches,  fallen,  would  be  so 
much  knowledge  as  is  necessary  for  him  in  his 
present  state.  If  more  had  been  given,  it  would 
have  been  incomprehensible :  we  cannot  now  fitlly 
understand  all  that  relates  to  ourselves.  There  is 
enough  plain  to  direct  us  in  the  discharge  of  all  du- 
ties. It  is  prophetical  and  developing.  We  have 
learned  from  it  things  unknown  to  our  ancestors : 
our  posterity  will  understand  it  more  fully. 

Every  reasonable  mind  must  admit,  that  it  is 
only  "  a  few  necessary  points  of  knowledge"  which 
can  be  communicated  by  an  uncreated  to  created 
mind.  Man  can  communicate  no  idea  or  power  of 
thought  to  his  most  skilful  mechanism.  The  steam, 
printing-press  can  do  almost  any  thing  but  think  and 
talk ;  and  the  telegraphs  convey  thoughts,  but  they 
have  no  knowledge  of  their  contrivers. 

Reasoning  from  analogy,  man  might  expect  but 
limited  communications  of  the  infinite  knowledge 
of  his  Creator.  The  vast  whole  of  God's  works  and 
words  must  be  "  not  only  concealed^^  but  utterly 
"  incomprehensible  to  human  faculties."  The  mode 
in  which  the  necessarily  incomplete  revelation  of 
other  beings  and  worlds  is  conveyed  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, is  in  harmony  with  that  in  which  the  phenom- 
ena of  nature  present  themselves  to  our  notice. 

The  sum  or  amount  of  Divine  knowledge  in- 
tended to  be  conveyed  to  us,  has  been  broken  up 
and  scattered  over  a  various  surface ;  it  has  been 
half  hidden  and    half  displayed;    it    has    been 


THE   WORDS    OF   GOD.  53 

couched  beneath  hasty  and  ineidental  allusions  j 
it  has  been  doled  out  in  morsels  and  ato^ns. 

There  are  no  logical  synopses  in  the  Bible  ;  no 
scientific  presentations  of  the  body  of  Divinity ;  no 
comprehensive  digests ;  for  sncli  wonld  have  been 
not  only  ntterly  nnsnited  to  the  popular  taste  and 
comprehension,  but  actually  impracticable,  since 
they  must  have  contained  that  which  neither  the 
mind  of  man  can  receive  nor  his  language  enibody. 

Better  far  might  a  seraph  attempt  to  convey  the 
largeness  of  his  celestial  ideas  to  a  child,  than  God 
impart  a  systematic  revelation  to  man.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  almost  as  if  the  vessel  of  Divine 
philosophy  had  been  wrecked  and  broken  in  a  dis- 
tant storm  ;  and  as  if  the  fragments  only  had  come 
drifting  ujDon  our  world,  which,  like  an  islet  in  the 
ocean  of  eternity,  had  drawn  to  itself  what  might 
be  floating  near  its  shores. 

While,  then,  it  is  impossible  to  frame  from  the 
Bible  any  model  of  the  universe  of  mind  or  matter, 
which  will  give  an  idea  of  either  as  a  whole  ;  yet, 
what  may  be  gleaned  of  the  great  outline  of  crea- 
tion, and  its  inhabitants,  of  the  interest  they  mutu- 
ally feel  in  one  another,  and  the  influence  they 
mutually  exert  on  one  another,  for  weal  or  woe, 
does  immeasurably  enlarge  our  knowledge  of  God, 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  universe,  of  the  nature  and 
employments  of  the  higher  orders  of  beings,  and  our 
own  future  destiny. 

It  is  only  by  a  careful  study  of  the  detail  of 
Revelation ,  which  comes  within  reach  of  our  obser- 


54:  REVELATION ; 

vation,  that  it  is  possible  to  discover  all  tliat  God 
designed  to  communicate  by  His  Word. 

It  is  self  evident,  ''  that  whatever  relates  to  the 
Divine  nature,  to  infinity,  and  the  ultimate  pur- 
poses of  the  Divine  government,  to  the  unseen 
worlds,  to  the  future  state,  and  even  the  mech- 
anism of  motives,  must  offer  itself  to  the  under- 
standing in  a  form  beset  with  difficulties.  That 
this  must  be  the  case  might  be  demonstrated  with 
mathematical  certainty.  If  therefore  we  resolve 
to  receive  from  the  Inspired  writers  nothing  but 
what  we  can  reconcile  first  to  certain  abstract  no- 
tions, and  then  to  a  particular  interpretation  of 
other  passages,  the  consequence  is  inevitable, 
"that  we  shall  arrive  at  very  imperfect  concep- 
tions of  the  knowledge  God  designs  to  convey  by 
His  Words. 

The  Bible  is  without  a  flaw.  E'either  time,  nor 
research,  nor  the  progress  or  malignity  of  man,  has 
been  able  to  discover  any  thing  to  detract  from  its 
claims  and  worth  as  a  Divine  Revelation ;  nor  to 
detect  "  a  single  statement  that  contradicts  the  dis- 
coveries of  science.  On  the  contrary,  science 
rather  keeps  advancing  and  coming  up  to  the  sim- 
ple statement  of  the  Word  of  God."  So  far  as  the 
two  have  been  compared,  no  discrepancies  have 
been  found  between  them.  N"ot  one  scientific  error 
has  been  detected.     They  perfectly  agree. 

Increased  knowledge  of  the  Bible  has  explained 
or  reconciled  mysteries  of  creation,  which  science 
at  first  supposed  conflicting.  And  it  is  a  new  proof 
that  it  is  God's  Word,  that  every  step  man  has  ad- 


THE    WOEDS    OF   GOD.  55 

vanced  in  scientific  knowledge,  so  wonderfully- 
enlarged  in  this  nineteenth  century,  has  opened 
new  light  on  its  sacred  truths,  and  discovered  new 
harmonies  between  its  own  mysteries  and  those  of 
creation. 

Its  language  is  not  always  in  strict  accordance 
with  actual  facts,  because  it  was  written  for  popu- 
lar use.  It  speaks  of  the  rising  and  setting  sun,  for 
example,  because  such  is  their  appearance  to  sight. 
Scientific  men  use  the  same  phraseology,  and  would 
not  be  understood  by  the  masses  unless  they  did. 

If  it  had  been  written  otherwise  than  in  this 
popular  style,  it  w^ould  have  been  a  revelation  only 
to  the  learned  ;  and  no  revelation  at  all  in  times  of 
ignorance  or  barbarism.  There  have  been  genera- 
tions without  any  learned  men.  God  adapted  it  to 
all  the  times  and  conditions  of  our  race. 

Some  facts  are  so  stated,  that  to  suj^erficial  ob- 
servation they  seem  opposed  to  reason  or  science. 
But  time  and  deeper  research  show  that  the  mistake 
is  in  the  objector,  and  not  in  the  Bible.  And  it  is 
surprising  that  being  a  partial  revelation^  and  re- 
ferring to  so  many  things  past  and  to  come,  that 
there  should  be  so  few  things  apparently  irreconcil- 
able, and  none  wholly  opposed  to  human  reason. 

The  Bible,  instead  of  causing  perplexities,  re- 
solves them,  and  the  wisest  men  living  testify  that 
the  Bible  is  the  greatest  help  on  earth  to  enable 
them  to  understand  the  mysteries  of  their  own  be- 
ing, of  science,  and  the  universe.  It  has  always 
been  the  motive  power  in  the  w^orld's  civilization, 
and  each  generation  is  proving  more  clearly,  not 


66  REVELATION  ; 

only  its  adaptation  to  all  tlie  wants  of  man  and  so- 
ciety, but  also,  that  it  must  continue  to  be  the  final 
perfecter  of  the  liighest  civilization  ;  and  that  there 
can  be  no  real  happiness  without  the  observance  of 
its  general  princij)les. 

Shadows  of  truth  are  embodied  there,  which 
seem  to  have  no  meaning  until  fulfilled  prophecy  or 
the  progress  of  man  show  what  they  are.  We  learn 
from  God's  dealings  with  bygone  men  and  nations, 
precisely  what  may  be  ahoays  expected  under  given 
circumstances. 

The  Bible  is  the  only  book  in  the  world  which 
is  "  all  truth,  without  any  mixture  of  error."  Isot 
that  it  is  not  like  all  other  human  productions,  sub- 
ject to  contingencies  and  imperfections  in  its  repub- 
lications ;  but,  that  its  morals,  maxims,  and  doc- 
trines, when  understood  in  their  true  sense,  are 
without  mixture  of  error.  The  Yedas  abound  with 
hymns  to  fire,  and  light,  and  the  powers  of  nature  ; 
the  Precepts  of  Confucius,  the  Zendavesta,  and  the 
Koran  contain  much  that  is  false  or  puerile,  and 
"  inconsistent  with  the  simplest  elements  of  science." 
All  other  religions  and  philosophies  abound  with 
errors.  And  its  miracles  difi*er  from  all  others, 
said  to  have  been  wrought  by  the  founders  of  reli- 
gious systems,  inasmuch  as  each  one  is  an  act  of 
Benevolence^  wrought  for  some  useful  purpose  to 
man. 

Creation  is  one  teacher  to  train  us  in  the  know- 
ledge of  God's  power  and  wisdom ;  the  Bible  is 
another  to  reveal  His  love  and  mercy,  and  give  a 
deeper  insight  into  His  attributes.     That  creation 


THE    WORDS    OF   GOD.  57 

had  a  beginning,  is  tlie  foundation  on  which  rests 
all  our  obligations  and  duties.  Tlie  Bible  teaches 
that  it  had  ;  who  is  tlie  Creator,  and  what  is  the 
service  man  owes  Him. 

Creation  needed  no  written  history,  except  to 
announce  that  it  had  a  beginning.  It  was  visible, 
and  could  speak  for  itself.  The  universe  seems  to 
be  divided  into  kingdoms  of  systems  and  worlds ; 
the  same  thing  is  seen  on  earth,  in  the  animal,  min- 
eral, and  vegetable  kingdoms. 

The  Bible  teaches  that  these  have  intimate  rela- 
tions with  invisible  spiritual  beings  and  kingdoms  ; 
one  of  grace  on  earth,  and  one  of  gloiy  in  heaven. 
Man  could  know  nothing  of  these  spiritual  king- 
doms but  by  a  revelation.  The  Bible  is  mainly 
devoted  to  giving  instruction  bearing  uj)on  them. 
From  beginning  to  end,  its  chief  aim  seems  to  be 
to  make  known,  that  the  visible  creation  was  made 
as  2L  foundation  on  which  to  erect,  out  of  its  inhab- 
itants, a  spiritual  kingdom,  to  be  connected  with  a 
large  one,  when  perfected,  reaching  beyond  the 
earth,  and  embracing  all  the  holy  beings  of  the 
universe. 

In  the  cursory  glance  here  made  at  the  great 
outline  of  God's  toords^  it  is  plainly  seen  that  they 
enlarge  man's  knowledge  of  His  works  and  attri- 
butes. Their  great  central  truth  is  sacrifice.  All 
else  is  subordinate  to  its  develojDment.  As  the 
earth  is  the  foundation  of  all  animal  and  vegetable 
life,  the  source  whence  they  draw  their  nourish- 
ment, by  a  power  given  it  by  the  Creator  ;  so  also, 
has  sacrifice  always  been  the  fount  and  source  of 
3* 


58  REVELATION  ; 

all  spiritual  life,  bj  a  similar  power  given  it  by 
God. 

The  institution  of  sacrifice  was  coeval  witli  the 
fall  of  man.  He,  falling  by  sin  from  the  Kingdom 
of  Grace,  w^as  restored  to  it  hy  means  of  sacrifice. 
It  was  the  act  by  which  God  was  propitiated,  and 
man  reconciled  to  Him.  It  implied  Intercession., 
Satisfaction.,  and  Renewal;  an  intercession  by 
Christ,  a  satisfaction  through  Christ,  and  a  renewal 
from  Christ.  It  required  a  real  change  or  destruc- 
tion of  the  thing  offered ;  showing  that  outside  of 
the  Divine  favor  is  everlasting  destruction.  It  tooh 
away  the  Life  of  the  Lamb  on  earth,  and  offered  it 
to  God  in  heaven.  It  symbolized  the  Lamb  of  God 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  It  was  the 
offering  of  blood  which  sanctified,  through  the  one 
Great  Sacrifice  to  be  made  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
It  was  the  passing  over  of  an  act  of  the  material 
world  to  its  immaterial  Creator.  It  was  His  first 
means  of  communication  with  Adam,  after  the  Avith- 
drawal  of  His  Visible  Presence  from  Eden,  and  the 
first  act  of  communion  he  had  with  God,  after  He 
ceased  to  talk  with  Him  in  the  garden. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  God's  covenant  of  Ee- 
demption,  by  sacrifice,  through  faith  in  the  seed  of 
the  woman  to  come  ;  and  it  established  a  visible 
kingdom  on  earth  in  union  with  God.  The  sacri- 
fice was  the  condition  of  Kestoration,  and  the  rite  of 
entrance  into  the  kingdom.  It  is  the  dark  central 
ball,  inside  the  deej)  concentric  cycles  of  religion 
and  spiritual  things,  on  which  the  whole  life  and 


THE   WORDS    OF   GOD.  59 

outward  structure  rests ;  just  as  the  hidden  impene- 
trable ball  of  burning  fluid  of  the  earth's  interior,  is 
the  mysterious  foundation  on  which  the  whole  fabric 
of  man's  physical  world  rests.  It  was  built  up  slow- 
ly and  by  degrees  on  this  foundation  into  a  spiritual 
kingdom,  as  the  earth  was  on  its  foundation  of  cen- 
tral fire. 

As  time  and  growth  brought  the  kingdom  into 
view,  the  central  idea  of  sacrifice,  its  nature  and 
design,  became  constantly  clearer.  It  was  seen  to 
re-connect  man  with  his  Creator,  and  to  keep  Him 
continually  before  him.  It  runs  down  like  a 
"  scarlet  thread'''^  through  all  the  history  of  the  race, 
until,  at  last,  God  descended  on  Sinai,  and  more 
fully  developed  the  truth  to  which  man  had  been 
clinging  for  centuries,  by  setting  up  a  visible 
kingdom. 

God  showed  the  model  of  it  to  Moses  in  the 
Mount.  It  was  after  a  heavenly  pattern,  and  its 
great  daily  morning  and  evening  acts  were  sacri- 
fice. This  lasted  for  fifteen  centuries.  But  it  grad- 
ually moulded  the  opinions  of  the  world,  until  it 
was  prepared  for  the  Advent  of  the  Son  of  God. 
The  ceremonial  of  the  Theocracy  was  a  type  to  pre- 
pare man  for  the  mysterious  sacraments  of  the  Per- 
fected Spiritual  Kingdom,  "  not  of  this  world,"  of 
the  Christian  Church.  The  Head  of  the  Theocracy 
was  in  heaven,  and  it  was  a  visible  representation 
of  the  more  spiritual  kingdom,  whose  Head  is  also 
in  heaven. 

The  Incarnation,  which  is  next  "to  be  considered, 


60  REVELATION  ;    THE   WORDS    OF   GOD. 

completed  the  kingdom,  and  tlie  work  of  creation, 
so  far  as  man  and  liis  world  are  concerned,  and 
fjiiislied  GoWs  revelations  to  liim  for  his  present 
life,  bj  making  known  all  he  is  ca23able  of  knowing 
in  this  state  on  earth,  of  the  Kingdom  of  Glory,  for 
which  he  was  created. 


THE   INCARNATION.  61 


CHAPTEK  TV. 

THE   INCARNATION  ;    OR,    LITE    OF    GOD. 


"  In  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge." 

Tfie  Apostle  Paul. 

"  The  Life  was  manifested,  and  we  have  seen  it,  and  bear  witness,  and  show 
unto  you  that  Eternal  Life  which  was  with  the  Father,  and  was  manifested 
unto  us."  iSt.  John,  the  Beloved  Disciple. 


The  works  and  words  of  God  originated  without 
any  previous  announcement.  There  were  two 
stages  of  preparation  for  the  Incarnation ;  that,  be- 
ing the  highest  of  all  God's  revelations,  was  the 
subject  of  prophecy  for  four  thousand  years  before 
it  took  place.  St.  Paul  says,  "  God  ordained  it  be- 
fore the  world  unto  our  glory."  He  announced  it 
to  Adam  in  the  promised  future  power  of  "  the  seed 
of  the  woman ;  "  prophetical  predictions  poured 
new  light  on  the  promise  ;  and  at  last  angels  pro- 
claimed it  as  accomplished,  and' were  present  at  the 
Advent. 

The  Incarnation  is  not  only  the  most  extraordi- 
nary event  in  the  history  of  the  earth,  but  also  the 
apex  and  compendium  of  creation.     All  that  God 


62  THE  incaenation; 

said  or  did  before  this,  so  far  as  revealed  to  man, 
seems  to  have  had  some  reference  to  it. 

Creation  was  the  first  step  towards  the  Incarna- 
tion ;  and,  as  has  ah-eadj  been  said,  there  conld 
have  been  no  Incarnation  without.it.  The  material 
of  the  earth  was  annealing  for  vast  geological  pe- 
riods, to  prepare  itself  for  the  formation  of  man; 
and  man  himself,  after  the  fall,  ran  through  cycles 
of  generations  before  he  was  so  fitted,  that  God 
could  take  his  nature  into  His,  and  become  Incar- 
nate in  His  own  creation. 

God  first  came  into  the  sight  of  His  creatures  by 
His  works.  The  whole  history  of  man  and  the 
earth,  and  the-  whole  drift  of  revelation,  show  that 
a  gradual  preparation  had  been  going  on,  from  the 
beginning,  to  prepare  this  world  for  the  Advent  and 
Incarnacion  of  its  Creator.  The  earth  is  the  scaf- 
folding, built  wp  out  in  space,  perhaps  central  in 
the  universe,  and  visible  to  all  its  inhabitants,  to 
bring  into  the  view  of  the  vast  whole,  the  sublime 
spectacle  of  the  Incarnation  and  Sacrifice  of  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God.  And  to  establish  here 
a  kingdom  to  connect  the  created  and  uncreated 
universe,  S23iritual  and  physical  beings  and  worlds. 

Age  after  age  God  was  revealing  Himself,  by 
the  infinitely  slow  processes  of  creation.  And  when 
rational  beings  came  upon  the  earth.  He  let  in  more 
light  to  them,  from  Himself,  by  His  Word,  explain- 
ing His  works,  and  making  known  His  attributes. 
Age  by  age  the  words  grew  clearer  by  the  new 
revelations  of  the  prophets,  until  at  last  the  Son  of 
God   was  announced,  as   conceived   by  the   Holy 


LIFE    OF   GOD.  63 

Ghost  and  born  of  tlie  Blessed  Virgin.  He  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light.  Tlie  visible  nature 
assumed  by  the  Son  enabled  man  to  picture  to 
himself  the  Father.  It  was  neither  the  Father  nor 
the  Holy  Ghost  incarnate,  but  the  Only  Begotten 
Son  of  God;  and  in  Him  man,  and  all  intelligent 
beings,  saw  "  the  glory  as  of  the  Only  Begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

Here  on  earth  the  Son  of  God  took  flesh,  a  hu- 
man nature,  and  sanctified  it  by  giving  it  a  Divine 
life,  creating  man  anew  in  Christ,  and  incorporating 
him  body  and  soul  into  His  visible  kingdom,  to 
prepare  him,  and  a  part  of  the  planet  to  which  he 
belonged,  for  annexation  to  the  invisible  uncreated 
kingdom  of  the  Father  Everlasting.  It  is  one 
glimpse,  or  ray  of  light,  breaking  in  upon  the  earth, 
from  God's  kingdom  of  glory,  in  its  triumphal  pro- 
gress to  the  destruction  of  the  devil,  and  of  his 
power  to  propagate  evil. 

It  brought  God  into  the  view  of  man  as  He 
had  never  before  been  seen  on  earth.  It  is  the  most 
intimate  revelation  God  can  make  of  himself  to 
mortals.  It  shows  His  interior  life;  His  secret 
springs  of  thought  and  action.  "  The  Word  was 
made^^^A;  and  we  beheld  His  glory,"  says  an  eye- 
witness of  the  wonderful  event.  It  throws  such 
floods-  of  light  on  the  Divine  nature,  that  we  can 
almost  embody  the  Deity.  Humanly  speaking, 
God  can  show  to  mortals  nothing  higher  than  His 
attributes  of  Life,  of  Love,  and  of  Glory.  And 
these  He  manifested,  that  man  might  copy  them 
into  himself,  and  become  like  Him.     This  was  the 


64:  THE   INCARNATION  ; 

ultimate  object  of  the  Incarnation,  so  far  as  man  is 
concerned.  This  was  an  end  worthy  of  God,  and 
most  ennobling  to  His  creatures. 

If  Jesus  created  all  things,  and  He  is  the  Word 
of  God^  and  in  Him  dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godliead,  then  all  that  is  known  of  Divine  mysteries 
in  all  worlds  must  be  through  Him.  The  highest 
seraphs  could  not  have  conceived  of  God's  nature 
by  their  own  intelligence.  No  one  knows  the 
Father,  except  he  to  whom  the  Son  reveals  Him. 
"  The  Scriptures  picture  the  angels  to  us  as  ever 
bending  over  and  looking  into  this  mystery,  to  feed 
their  love,  their  wisdom,  and  their  adoration  out  of 
its  depths  of  glory  and  sweetness."  And  they  de- 
clare that  the  Son  of  God  became  better  known  to 
"  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places  "  by 
His  Incarnation. 

How  could  it  be  otherwise?  How  could  the 
Creator  of  the  universe  be  absent  from  its  throne, 
thirty-three  revolutions  of  the  earth  on  its  axis, 
though  it  may  be  but  a  moment  in  the  measure- 
ment of  eternity,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly 
worlds  be  ignorant  of  the  fact,  or  even  the  motives 
which  caused  His  absence?  Or  could  Satan,  the 
accuser  of  the  angels,  be  cast  out  of  heaven  and  by 
the  Incarnation,  and  they  not  know  it,  and  see  in 
Him  new  attributes  to  love  and  adore  ? 

If  the  works  and  words  of  God  were  made  known 
to  intelligent  beings,  to  enlarge  their  knowledge  of 
the  Creator,  so  also  is  it  probable,  that  this  highest 
and  unspeakable,  and  most  touching  of  all  the  reve- 
lations and  mysteries  of  God  would  be  communi- 


LIFE   OF   GOD.  65 

cated  to  all  liis  creatures.  We  should,  however, 
haVe  no  right  to  so  conclude  unless  the  fact  were 
revealed.  It  is  ;  though  all  its  purposes  in  relation 
to  man  even  are  not  fully  explained. 

As  God  himself  is  first  seen  coming  into  visibil- 
ity to  His  creatures  by  His  works ;  so  also  is  His 
kingdom  seen  beginning  to  become  visible  in  His 
words.  The  mysterious  administrators  of  that  in- 
visible kingdom  first  descended  to  the  earth,  im- 
mediately after  the  fall,  to  guard  the  "  Tree  of  Life," 
to  prevent  man  eating  the  fruit  thereof,  and  thereby 
interferino:  with  the  Incarnation  in  its  relations  to 
man. 

Eevelation  having  made  known  God's  designs 
respecting  some  of  the  intelligent  beings  He  had 
created ;  the  Incarnation  showed  the-  means  by 
which  they  were  accomplished.  Heavenly  beings 
are  seen  in  Eevelation  taking  an  active  part  in  all 
the  preparations  for  the  Incarnation.  They  con- 
stantly passed  and  repassed  between  heaven  and 
earth  on  their  missions. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  kingdom  was  laid  in  the 
blood  of  the  first  sacrifice  ofi'ered  to  God  by  Adam. 
On  that  it  was  gradually  built ;  and  it  was  con- 
stantly coming  into  view  by  means  of  priesthoods, 
tabernacles,  and  temples ;  of  kingships,  kingdoms, 
and  the  theocracy,  until  the  moment  when  the 
Holy  Ghost  proclaimed  in  heaven  that  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Head  of  the  Kingdom,  was  Incarnate  on 
earth,  in  the  womb  of  the  Blessed  "Virgin.  An 
angel  announced  the  Incarnation  on  earth,  heavenly 
beings  were  present  at  the  Advent,  and  attended 


QQ  THE  incarnation; 

the  Son  of  God  tliroiigli  His  whole  earthly  career. 
All  this  shows  that  Jesus  is  the  true  Imh  which 
connects  the  visible  and  invisible  worlds,  tlie  cre- 
ated and  uncreated,  the  mind  and  matter  of  the 
nniverse. 

It  is  impossible  for  the  human  mind  to  gather 
from  creation,  or  the  Old  Testament,  the  ultimate 
designs  of  God  towards  man.  But  the  Incarnation 
explains  both.  E'evertlieless  the  explanation  is 
embarrassed  by  some  of  the  same  difficulties  of  ob- 
scurity, which  so  largely  abound  in  the  two  former 
revelations. 

The  coming  of  the  Son  of  God  to  earth  was 
neither  as  such  a  being,  nor  in  such  a  way  as  man 
expected.  This  is  certain,  because  the  wisest  of 
God's  people  were  puzzled  by  the  prophecies  which 
foretold  His  lowly  condition  and  humiliation  ;  and 
all  expected  a  glorious  tem/poral  Saviour  and  Sove- 
reign. 

It  would  better  have  accorded  with  human  no- 
tions, that  the  Creator,  coming  personally  into  a 
seemingly  remote  province  of  Plis  dominions,  should 
have  passed  along  the  starry  highway  of  His  own 
worlds,  with  all  the  publicity,  pomp,  and  splendor 
of  their  Creator  and  sovereign  Lord.  And  that, 
reaching  the  earth.  He  should  at  once  have  put  an 
end  to  all  its  evils.  One  of  the  principal  objects  of 
his  mission  was,  to  destroy  him  who  had  the  power 
of  evil ;  and  his  advent  was  tnagnificent  in  the 
view  of  higher  orders  of  beings  than  man.  The 
heavenly  hosts  trailed  their  long  procession  all  the 
way  from  the  courts  of  heaven  to  earth,  where  they 


LIFE   OF   GOD.  67 

were  seen  by  men,  and  their  celestial  cliants  heard, 
on  the  plains  of  Bethlehem.  But  the  jDerson  and 
mission  of  our  Lord  were  hidden  from  that  genera- 
tion. They  understood  not  that  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  who  for  centuries  directed  its 
inhabitants  by  His  Word,  had  actually  taken  man's 
nature  and  flesh  into  Himself.  And  after  all  the 
light  which  has  been  shed  on  this  subject,  by  the 
life  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  ages  of 
progress  of  the  kingdom  on  earth  ;  the  whole  is  but 
a  glimpse,  one  ray  of  the  Kingdom  of  Glory  stream- 
ing down  to  this  world,  in  its  triumphal  progress  on 
to  the  destruction  of  all  the  moral  evil  of  the  uni- 
verse. 

The  nearness  of  God  to  the  Jews  was  the  glory 
of  the  ancient  church.  Moses  said,  from  the  past 
days,  even  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  God  had 
done  to  no  other  nation  as  He  had  done  ^  in  mani- 
festing His  presence  to  them.  The  Jewish  Church 
was  an  earthly  kingdom,  with  God  for  its  Head. 
This  was  the  embodiment  of  the  earlier  types  into 
an  organized  form.  It  was  both  the  model  and 
root  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Incarnation.  The  Theo- 
cracy was  after  a  Divine  pattern  shown  by  God  the 
Son  to  Moses  in  the  Mount.  It  had  three  orders  of 
administrators,  one  of  which  w^as  designed  to  be 
stcccessive,  until  Christ,  the  High  Priest  over  God's 
Household  of  the  created  Universe,  should  come. 
It  was  the  last  stage  of  preparation  for  the  spiritual 
kingdom,  not  of  this  world.     It  matured  and  de- 

*  Deut.  iv.,  32-36. 


DO  THE   INCARNATION  ; 

cayed,  but  preserved  in  its  root  a  vital  principle, 
out  of  which  grew  the  ministry  and  sacraments  of 
the  Christ's  Kingdom,  which  were  to  give  His  life 
and  spirit  to  its  citizens. 

The  Christian  Church  is  the  Theocracy  com- 
pleted. It  is  the  visible  application  of  the  blessings 
of  the  Incarnation,  or  the  Life  of  God,  secured  to 
the  world.  "  In  the  apostolic  commission  are  con- 
tained all  the  acts  and  sacraments  by  which  the 
grace  of  Christ  is  bestowed  upon  mankind,  from  the 
first  ingrafting  of  souls  into  His  body,  to  the  last 
strengthening  food  which  is  given  to  the  passing 
saint."  It  is  God's  means  of  calling  man  to  Him- 
self, of  perfecting  saints,  for  "  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ,"  which  is  building  up  His  body  the 
Church,  until  all  come,  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  to 
perfect  men,  perfect  after  the  pattern,  model,  and 
s])irit  of  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  His  presence  in  the 
words  of  His  Gospel  and  ministers,  and  His  life  in 
the  Sacraments,  which  fulfil  all  the  symbolism  of 
the  Patriarchal  sacrifice,  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the 
wilderness,  of  the  Theocracy,  and  of  the  Shechinah 
of  the  Temple.  In  them  all  the  prophecies  of  the 
Messiah  are  fulfilled  ;  Immanuel,  God  is  with  us. 
This  constitutes  the  superiority  of  the  latter  Dispen- 
sation. There  God  was  visible  to  the  senses  ;  here 
He  is  present  in  the  soul.  By  it  man  receives  the 
Life  of  God,  and  is  brought  as  near  to  the  likeness 
of  His  Creator  as  it  is  j)ossible  for  him  to  be  in  the 
flesh. 

The  prophecies  which  foretold  the  Incarnation 


LIFE   OF    GOD.  69 

were  so  obscure,  that  they  could  not  be  interpreted 
until  they  were  fulfilled.  And  when  the  Son  of 
God  came  His  life  was  hidden  nine  months  in  the 
Blessed  Virgin ;  and  after  He  w^as  born  His  God- 
head was  hidden  in  the  helpless  Babe  of  the  manger. 
This  characteristic  runs  through  His  whole  life. 
''  He  did  nothing  but  hide  Himself."  He  was  hid- 
den from  Herod  in  Egypt ;  from  His  brethren  in 
J^azareth  ;  from  the  whole  nation  of  His  own  peo- 
ple for  thirty  years  ;  and  from  His  own  chosen 
Apostles  for  the  three  years  of  His  public  ministry  ; 
from  Pilate,  who  unjustly  condemned  Him;  and, 
at  last,  upon  the  cross,  from  the  sight  of  the  world 
He  created,  by  the  veil  of  darkness  which  convulsed 
nature  threw  around  the  agony  of  its  Redeemer. 
He  charged  those  He  healed  not  to  make  Him 
known  ;  silenced  the  devils  He  cast  out,  who  knew 
Him  ;  withdrew  Himself  from  the  multitude  when 
they  would  make  Him  a  king,  and  delivered  His 
doctrines  in  parables  and  hard  sayings. 

The  design  of  the  Incarnation,  so  far  as  it  re- 
lates to  man,  w^as  to  complete  the  two  former  reve- 
lations, to  make  God  better  known,  and  to  reveal  all 
that  it  was  necessary  for  man  to  know  respecting 
time,  and  his  world,  and  the  before  unknown  things 
of  heaven,  hell,  and  paradise. 

The  Incarnation  was  the  completion  of  all  sacri- 
fice. It  revealed  the  Lamb  of  God  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  and  through  whose  blood 
alone  was  remission  of  sins.  It  brought  the  invisi- 
ble kingdom  of  God  into  view  to  man  under  its  true 


TO 


Head.  The  God  of  Sacrifice,"^  the  God  of  the  Cov- 
enants, the  God  of  the  Tabernacle,  the  God  of  the 
Theocracy,  the  God  of  the  Temple  and  of  Prophecy, 
descended  to  the  earth,  manifested  Himself  in  hu- 
man form  to  man,  organized  a  kingdom,,  commis- 
sioned its  rulers,  delivered  it  its  constitution,  restored 
the  connection  which  existed  between  God  and  man, 
and  heaven  and  earth,  before  the  fall,  and  brought 
all  its  members  into  that  same  spiritual  relationship 
which  Adam  enjoyed  before  he  sinned.  And  while 
coming  upon  the  earth,  and  doing  these  things  visi- 
bly before  the  eyes  of  men.  He  maintained  tlie  same 
marvellous  character  of  hiddenness  which  is  dis- 
€ernible  in  all  His  other  revelations.  He  really  hid 
more  than  He  disclosed.  That  is.  He  showed  that 
after  all  that  was  revealed,  vastly  more  that  is  sub- 
lime and  wonderful  yet  remains  unexplained.  It 
enabled  man  to  discern  more  clearly  "  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  his  ignorance  on  the  awful  and  mysterious 
subjects  "  of  God  and  eternity,  and  his  own  responsi- 
bility and  importance  in  the  scale  of  being,  and 
"  added  new  mysteries  while  explaining  old  ones." 
It  is  probably  impossible  for  created  minds  to 
receive  a  revelation  from  an  uncreated  mind  in  any 
other  way  than  by  parts,  and  parcels,  and  partial 
glimpses.  It  is  ^2^\^jprobaUe^  because  ^o^  Icnow  that 
this  is  the  only  way  the  mind  arrives  at  a  full  know- 
ledge of  things  in  this  world.  To  learn  to  read,  it 
has  first  to  puzzle  over  seemingly  meaningless  let- 

*  Sacrifice  is  called  a  covenant  bj  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  1.  5.     Latin : 
"  Foedus  mecum  per  sacrificium." 


LIFE    OF   GOD.  71 

ters ;  and  to  learn  mathematics,  it  begins  with  learn- 
ing as  seemingly  meaningless  numerals. 

All  God's  works  appear  hidden  to  us,  because  in 
this  life  wx  are  learning  the  alphabets  and  digits  of 
things  which  we  are  to  apply  in  the  culture  of 
more  enlarged  knowledge  in  a  higher  state  of  be- 
ing; and,  because  we  have  not  power  of  mind 
enough  now  to  penetrate  into  their  depths.  This 
peculiarity  of  hiddenness  belongs  to  every  thing 
which  comes  from  God.  If  the  Incarnation  had 
differed  in  this  respect  from  the  other  revelations, 
we  might  reasonably  have  doubted  it,  because  His 
Word  represents  the  Creator  as  everlastingly  un- 
changeable. And  all  that  man  knows  of  Him  is 
alike  and  harmonious. 

As  all  things  from  God  have  this  characteristic 
of  hiddenness,  and  prove  Him  always  and  in  all 
things  the  same,  man  has  no  excuse  if  he  will  not 
believe  this  concatenated  testimony.  "  How  little 
of  the  causes  and  motives  of  action  of  created  things 
do  we  know  !  and  it  must  be  unlimited  arrogance 
alone  that  could  question  the  wisdom  of  the 
mechanism  of  Him  '  who  judgeth  rightly  ;  '  the 
operations  of  a  simple  plant  confound  us,  and,  like 
the  handwriting  on  the  wall,  though  seen  by  many, 
can  be  explained  but  by  6^/i^."  If  man  disbelieves 
because  God  has  done  things  differently  from  his 
expectations,  it  will  be  no  excuse.  He  has  done  all 
things  as  He  said  He  would  by  creation,  and  as  He 
said  He  had  done  and  woidd  do  in  His  words,  ac- 
cording to  the  counsel  of  His  own  will.  His  ways 
are  so  unlike  man's,  so  unlike  what  he  would  have 


72 


expected  from  Him ;  "  so  completely  at  variance 
with  the  genius  of  our  Unite  minds,  or  our  own  nat- 
ural principles  of  conduct,  that  we  are  apparently 
unable  to  grasp  them,  and  fuse  them  into  our  finite 
understandings." 

The  Soij  of  God  was  incarnate  expressly  to  make 
Ilimself  Jhuoicn  to  man^  and  this  He  did  in  an  ex- 
traordinary way,  as  it  seems  to  iis,  by  hiding  Him- 
self. It  was  the  last  way  a  human  mind  would 
have  devised.  But  it  was  God's  way  ;  and  never 
before  was  any  thing  attempted  to  be  hidden  so 
plainly  revealed.  It  was  the  way  in  which  God  has 
always  appeared  to  man,  since  he  fled  from  His  pre- 
sence in  the  bowers  of  Eden,  and,  through  all  the 
obscurity  which  hangs  around  the  Incarnation,  he 
discerns  the  glory  as  of  the  Only  Begotten  of  the 
Father. 

This  brings  us  down  to  the  terra  firma  of  crea- 
tion, and  the  completion  of  its  concluding  act,  so 
far  as  man  and  the  earth  are  connected  w4th  it.  It 
is  the  finishing  of  an  infinite  conception  of  the  Di- 
vine mind,  "  the  keystone  in  creation's  arch,  and 
also  the  apex  of  that  pyramid  of  creation,  which 
runs  up  and  loses  itself  in  the  Divine  Person  of  the 
Eternal  Mind,  and  so  hangs  all  things  on  to  God." 

In  the  preceding  chapters  it  has  been  seen,  that 
at  the  creation  of  man  his  world  was  good  and  in 
unity  w^ith  all  God's  works ;  that  sin  separated  it 
from  that  unity ;  and  that  prophecies  coeval  with 
the  fall  foretold  a  Divine  Person,  to  come  and  es- 
tablish a  kingdom  in  opposition  to  Satan's.     Later 


LIFE   OF   GOD.  73 

prophecies  said  that  Person  would  be  the  Son  of 
God. 

As  the  Incarnation  is  the  completion  of  creation, 
so  also  is  the  Church  of  Christ  the  perfection  of 
the  Incarnation.  Here  God  paused  in  the  manifes- 
tation of  Himself;  man  can  draw  no  nearer  to  Him 
and  learn  nothing  more  of  Him  than  can  be  acquired 
tlirough  His  Incarnate  Body  of  the  Church.  All 
tliat  went  before  was  but  so  much  preparation  for 
it ;  all  the  good  in  the  world  since  has  flown  from 
it.  It  is  tlie  means  God  is  now  nsing  to  carry  on 
and  perpetuate  the  blessings  of  the  Incarnation; 
working  up  new  mind  and  matter  into  immortal 
material  for  His  Kingdom  of  Glory.  It  is  a  king- 
dom among  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  recruiting 
citizens  out  of  them,  and  making  them  eternal.  It 
is  the  finishing  work  of  creation  on  each  soul,  re- 
creating it  aneiv  with  the  Life  of  God.  It  is  a 
supernatural  kingdom,  with  a  supernatural  Head, 
and  having  a  supernatural  connection  with  the 
earth.  Its  action  is  supernatural,  changing  parts 
of  the  physical  creation  into  the  form  of  moral  be- 
ing ;  into  intelligence  and  immortality,  to  utter  the 
praise  of  its  adorable  Creator.  Beings,  born  out  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Xature,  are  re-born  into  the  King- 
dom of  Grace,  and  fitted  for  the  Kingdom  of  Glory. 
And  the  Church  is  doing  this  work  of  God  on  earth 
in  the  same  way  that  the  earth  was  prepared  to  be- 
gin it  by  the  creation  of  man.  It  has  been  slow 
and  m^^sterious,  and  with  all  our  present  light  we 
can  no  more  understand  the  vastness  of  its  future 
results  than  we  can  its  past  history. 
4 


74:  THE   INCAENATION  ; 

It  is  not  working  in  the  way  man  works  when 
he  has  power.  He  revohitionizes  and  accomplishes 
his  purposes  in  the  shortest  possible  manner ;  with 
one  tidal  wave  of  reform  he  would  sweep  the  world 
of  its  evils.  God  works  by  law.  The  Church  has 
purposes  to  accomplish  beyond  this  world,  of  a  spir- 
itual nature,  and  yet  man,  in  his  presumption  and 
ignorance,  objects  that  "  the  Church  cannot  be  from 
God,  because  she  does  not  accomplish  temporal " 
ends,  which,  in  his  judgment,  ought  to  te  accom- 
plished. 

But  the  Church  is,  nevertheless,  God's  Kingdom, 
working  according  to  the  eternal  plans  which  He 
planned  before  Creation  began.  It  is  applying  the 
life  of  His  Incarnate  Son  to  individuals  and  genera- 
tions of  men,  and  gradually  destroying  the  power 
of  the  devil  on  earth,  and  throughout  the  universe. 
It  does  this  effectually  on  every  regenerate  man, 
making  him  a  new  creature  in  Christ,  of  the  high 
type  of  His  resurrection  life.  Jesus,  by  His  Incar- 
nation, became  the  Head  of  a  new  spiritual  race  of 
beings ;  they  have  since  been  begotten  and  regene- 
rated by  Him,  as  the  physical  race  has  descended 
from  Adam.  This  Headship  connects  man  Avith  all 
the  holy  beings  in  the  universe  ;  but,  oh !  how  inti- 
mately with  the  dead  in  Christ.  The  same  life  of 
Jesus  which  flows  through  the  living  members  flows 
through  them.  From  the  common  Head,  life  goes 
out  as  sap  does  from  the  root  to  the  branches,  or  as 
blood  from  the  heart  into  the  members,  or  light  from 
the  sun  among  the  planets,  in  a  never  ceasing  cur- 
rent. 


LIFE   OF   GOD.  Y5 

And  the  same  mystery  hangs  around  the  Church, 
which  attended  the  Incarnation.  The  workl  knew 
not  when  Jesus  was  conceived,  neither  does  it  know 
the  precise  day  ivhen  the  Church  was  organized  or 
received  its  vital  power. 

How  like  Himself,  hoAv  unchangeahle  is  God  in 
all  things.  Four  thousand  years  before,  the  Church 
had  first  come  to  view  in  sacrifice,  and  it  was  fin- 
ished precisely  as  it  began ;  as  has  been  said  on 
page  fifty-eight,  no  account  is  given  of  the  original 
appointment  of  sacrifice.  Its  existence  is  the  fact 
which  God  presents  to  \\iq  faith  of  His  creatures. 

The  instructions  our  Lord  gave  His  disciples, 
during  the  Great  Forty  Days  of  His  Kesurrection 
life,  related  mainly  to  His  Kiugdom  of  the  Christian 
Church  ;  yet  no  record  has  been  preserved  of  the 
most  of  it,  any  further  than  as  tliey  are  visible  in  the 
Apostolic  Church,  which  has  ever  since  existed  as  a 
visible  kingdom  on  earth.  All  the  externals  of  the 
Church  have  the  same  harmonious  mystery.  The 
crosses  which  surmount  them  speak  of  the  mystery 
of  Redemption.  Tlie  fonts  which  adorn  them  remind 
of  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin.  The  altars 
symbolize  the  tremendous  sacrifice  once  offered  for 
a  fallen  world.  While  the  chants,  the  water,  the 
bread  and  the  wine,  tell  of  the  mysterious  blessings 
which  flowed  from  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Church  itself  lias  continued  to  maintain  that 
characteristic  of  hiddenness.  It  was  at  first  half 
liidden  by  lingering  Judaical  customs ;  and  after- 
wards in  deserts  and  caves  whither  it  fled  from  per- 
secutions ;  and  by  heresies  ;  by  the   irruptions  of 


76 


barbarians ;  by  tlie  declension  of  learning ;  and  in 
modern  times  b}^  the  multitudes  of  spurious  forms 
of  Cliristianity,  wliicli  the  perversity  or  pride  of  man 
have  originated  in  opposition  to  it. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  one  of  the  marvels 
brought  to  light  by  the  Incarnation,  and  not  re- 
vealed until  after  the  resurrection,  is  not  directly 
taught.  The  presence  and  agency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  human  salvation 
begun  by  Christ,  is  mysterious.  When  or  where 
the  Gospels  were  written  is  unknown.  The  Sacra- 
ments still  operate  invisibly  and  supernaturally. 
The  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist  is  the  most 
precious  fruit  of  the  Incarnation.  It  throws  floods 
of  light  over  all  the  mysteries  of  God's  three  great 
Xingdoms  of  ]N"ature,  Grace,  and  Glory.  It  shows 
God  hidden  in  His  own  creation,  to  give  Himself 
to  His  creatures.  The  mystery  of  the  Incarnation 
is  transmuted  into  it ;  and  it  renews  the  mystery  in 
us.  By  it  God  and  man  are  both  reconciled  and 
united.  "  Short  of  the  Beatific  vision,  it  is  of  itself 
the  plainest,  the  surest,  the  gladdest,  and  the  near- 
est sight  of  God  which  His  creatures  can  enjoy." 
Yet  it  is  an  unfathomable  mystery.  E'ot  only  how 
it  operates,  but  also  the  fulness  of  the  blessings 
which  flow  from  it  are  hidden.  ''  It  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be  ; "  we  only  know  that  He 
who  ^'  eateth"  Christ  shall  live  by  Him  ;  and  that 
such  only  shall  rise  with  Him  to  eternal  life. 

"  The  deep  mystery  of  man's  renewed  nature  flows 
out  of  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation."  By  one 
sacrament  of  His  Bodi/j  the  Churchy  we  are  created 


LIFE   OF    GOD.  77 

anew  in  Christ  Jesus ;  bora  again  of  water  as  our 
first  parent  was  born  from  earth.  The  old  creation 
dies,  and  has  a  new  life  hid  in  God.  St.  Paul  says, 
Buried  with  Christ  in  baptism.  ..."  Ye  are  dead, 
and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."  And  the 
consummation  of  creation  will  be  the  hiiiUing  into 
God,  in  One,  through  the  mystical  Body  of  His  Son, 
the  whole  communion  of  the  elect. 

"We  are  made  new  creatures  by  the  same  Son  of 
God  who  first  made  us  men,  and  by  whom  the  Son 
of  man  was  made  God,  by  the  overshadowing  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  We  receive  the  Life  of  the  Son  of 
God  through  the  Holy  Sacraments,  and  both  of  them 
are  earthly  means  which  God  now  uses  as  Jesus 
used  the  water,  clay,  and  bread,  when  He  was  on 
earth,  to  heal  and  feed  the  multitudes,  to  perpetuate 
the  blessings  of  the  Incarnation,  and  to  carry  on  His 
work  of  changing  mind  and  matter  into  His  own 
likeness ;  changing  mortals  into  immortals,  earthly 
bodies  into  heavenly  ones  ;  to  make  them  outlive 
themselves,  and  the  material  globe  out  of  whicli 
they  were  created,  and  "  rise  on  the  heaving  wreck 
.  of  material  things." 

The  virtues  which  w^ent  out  of  our  Blessed  Lord's 
incarnate  Body,  when  He  was  on  earth,  to  heal 
maladies,  were  a  type  of  that  virtue  which  still  goes 
out  of  His  Body,  the  Church,  through  the  Blessed 
Sacraments,  to  heal  the  malady  of  sin.  And  it  is 
by  its  means,  that  our  vile  bodies  are  gradually 
changed  into  the  likeness  of  Himself. 

It  might  have  been  reasonably  concluded,  by 
the  soundest  human  judgment,  that  after  our  Lord 


73  THE   mCAENATION  ; 

had  fulfilled  His  mission,  and  established  His  Divin- 
ity to  His  Apostles,  which  He  did  during  the  Forty 
Days  of  His  Resurrection  life,  that  He  would  have 
unveiled  all  mystery  of  Himself  or  Kingdom,  so  as 
to  make  plain  the  power  by  which  the  world  was 
to  be  converted.  This  would  have  given  it  an  im- 
mense impulse.  But  He  did  not.  He  was  seen  at 
but  intervals,  then  only  for  a  moment. 

So  also  of  His  Ascension  to  Heaven ;  one  would 
have  supposed  that  He  would  have  called  all  Judea, 
at  least,  to  witness  it.  But  He  did  not.  He  main- 
tained to  the  last  the  same  hiddemiess.  The  Ascen- 
sion, "  which  looked  like  a  closing  triumph  of  the 
war,"  was  seen  only  by  the  eleven  Apostles  ;  and  the 
Church  and  Sacraments  which  he  instituted  to  j)er- 
petuate  the  benefits  of  the  Incarnation  on  earth  are 
to  this  day  involved  in  the  same  mystery. 

He  maintained,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  His  life,  and  throughout  all  the  institutions  of  His 
Kingdom,  that  characteristic  of  hiddemiess  which 
has  always  attended  every  manifestation  of  Himself 
which  He  has  made  to  man. 

If  the  human  mind  cannot  fathom  the  Works  and 
Words  of  God,  much  less  may  it  hope  to  understand 
the  Incarnation  of  His  Only  Begotten  Son,  the  un- 
fathomable act  of  Redemption.  It  is  the  consum- 
mation of  God's  visible  means  of  making  known  to 
all  created  minds,  in  its  largest  measure,  the  fulness 
of  His  love  for  them.  It  is  impossible  for  human 
minds  to  compare  the  works  of  God  one  with 
another,  or  the  Church  with  any  thing  on  earth.  It 
came  from  heaven ;  it  is  supernatural,  and  its  Head 


LIFE    OF    GOD. 


T9 


is  in  heaven.  Spiritual  beings,  who  know  more  of 
such  matters,  may  do  so,  and  trace  all  their  conneo- 
Uons  as  clearly  as  man  does  the  relations  of  differ- 
ent human  races,  and  languages,  or  the  connections 
and  motions  of  the  different  planets  of  our  solar  sys- 
tem. As  far  as  man  can  see,  all  is  complete,  con- 
nected, and  perfect.  All  is  harmony.  Yet  in  each 
one  there  is  much  that  seems  hidden,  because  it  is 
above  his  understanding. 

The  Church  is  but  one  division  of  a  large  king- 
dom. Its  greatest  numbers  are  in  another  world,  in 
Paradise,  on  their  way  to  Heaven.  It  looks  to  man 
as  though  his  division  of  the  kingdom  were  isolated 
and  independent,  the  whole  vast  result  of  the  Incar- 
nation ;  in  the  same  way  the  earth  seems  to  have 
been  created  for  him  alone.  But  in  both  he  is  mis- 
taken. The  earth  was  created  to  be  inhabited,  but 
that  is  not  its  most  important  feature.  It  was  de- 
signed also  to  be  the  Planet  of  the  Incarnation,  and 
man,  as  an  occupant  of  the  world  where  it  takes 
place,  comes  in  for  a  share  of  its  blessings.  As 
creation  includes  all  worlds,  so,  we  believe,  do  the 
benefits  of  the   Incarnation   reach    to    all  worlds. 

There  was  an  ancient  war  in  heaven  brought 
to  an  end  by  the  Incarnation.  It  is  therefore 
probable  that  the  effects  of  the  Incarnation  were 
the  same  in  all  worlds.  We  should  have  no 
right  to  so  conclude,  unless  God  had  spoken  on 
the  subject,  because  His  ways  are  not  as  our 
ways.  But  there  are  two  remarkable  texts  of 
Scripture  bearing  on  this  point.  The  one,  where 
the  angels  announce  the  Advent  of  the  Son  of  God 


80  THE  incarnation; 

into  this  world,  in  tlie  "  well  known "  words : 
"  Glory  be  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
jpeace^  good  will  towards  men."  The  other,  which 
shows  that  peace  was  restored  in  heaven.  Before 
the  Incarnation  there  was  war  and  fightings  in 
heaven,  as  there  are  now  on  earth.  And  it  seems 
to  have  acted  prospectively  there  as  it  did  on  earth. 
Here,  all  who  died  from  Adam  to  Christ,  who  be- 
lieved in  a  Savionr  to  come,  were  saved  by  faith  in 
His  blood,  through  the  covenant  of  sacrifice,  and  the 
later  covenants  of  God  prospectively.  The  revolt 
of  the  angels  introduced  disturbance  into  heaven, 
as  the  fall  of  man  did  uj)on  earth,  and  those  higher 
order  of  beings  fought  with  one  another  under  great 
leaders,  as  armies  do  among  men.  For  how  many 
millions  of  our  years  that  war  was  waged,  in  the 
cycles  of  a  past  eternity,  is  not  revealed.  But  St. 
John,  the  beloved  disciple,  who  best  knew  the 
mind  of  Christ,  and  the  mysteries  of  God,  tells  us, 
that  Michael  and  his  angels  fought  with  the  devil 
and  his  angels,  conquered,  and  cast  them  out  of 
heaven ;  and  that  he  "  overcame  them  by  the 
Blood  of  the  Lamb."  And  in  this  case  it  seems 
plain  that  the  efiects  of  the  Incarnation  were  pre- 
cisely the  same  in  heaven  as  on  earth. 

We  cannot  understand  all  that  relates  to  our- 
selves, in  the  Incarnation  of  Christ,  much  less 
could  we  that  wliich  connects  it  with  the  higher 
order  of  beings,  if  it  had  been  revealed.  To 
them,  it  may  appear  to  have  taken  place  with 
exclusive  reference  to  themselves,  and  that  man's 
salvation  is   but  a   subordinate   result  of  its    su- 


LIFE   OF   GOD.  81 

pernal  fulness.  Just  as  on  liigli  gala  days  when 
earthly  kings  confer  pardon  on  great  criminals, 
so  also,  in  the  plenitude  of  their  bounty,  do  they 
release  also  many  criminals  of  an  inferior  or- 
der. It  is  the  perfection  and  wisdom  of  God's 
works  that  they  seem  complete  to  all  ranks.  To 
attempt  to  limit  God's  designs  to  what  we  know  or 
can  learn  of  His  Revelations  by  our  own  under- 
standings, "would  be  presumption,  and  would  be 
wanting  in  that  deep  reverence  which  all  the  ves- 
tiges of  God  are  calculated  to  excite,  and  would  be 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  adoration  which  all  intelli- 
gent research  into  the  Divine  ways  necessarily  brings 
along  with  it." 

But  the  greatest  marvel  of  the  Incarnation,  so 
far  as  man  is  interested,  is  the  power  which  has 
been  intrusted  to  him  to  perpetuate  this  miraculous 
union  begun  with  God  and  man  in  our  Blessed 
Lord.  As  rulers  of  the  kingdom  He  established,  He 
gave  them  the  same  power  He  received  from  the 
Father,  "  AS  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  SO  send  I 
you,"  to  draw  out  this  kingdom  by  your  successors 
to  the  world's  end  ;  to  carry  on  the  work  of  Eedemp- 
tion  begun  in  the  Incarnation.  And  the  spiritual 
work  is  wrought  in  the  same  hidden  way,  and  by 
means  of  the  same  Holy  Spirit  who  began  the  In- 
carnation. Day  and  night  without  ceasing,  in  dif- 
ferent quarters  of  the  globe,  the  sacramental  offices 
of  the  Church  are  being  said  by  men,  and  new  souls 
born  again  to  Christ,  and  God  and  the  elements  of 
bread  and  wine  united.  And  in  both  cases,  pre- 
cisely as  at  the  beginning  of  the  Incarnation,  by  the 
4* 


82  THE  incarnation; 

entrance  of  God  into  His  own  creatures.  Then  two 
natures  united  ;  so  now,  the  Holy  Spirit  descends 
on  the  baptized  person  to  abide  with  him  ;  and  the 
bread  and  wine,  though  after  consecration  are  still 
bread  and  wine,  have  a  new^  principle  added  to 
them,  which  is  the  Life  of  God.  By  both  Sacra- 
ments the  Life  of  God  is  received  into  the  soul. 
They  make  a  perfect  union  between  man  and  God  ; 
of  course  only  when  the  conditions  prescribed  by 
God  are  complied  with.  It  is  the  highest  of  all  de- 
votions, of  all  unions,  and  all  mysteries ;  "  The 
greatest  work  of  God,  and  the  Sabbath  of  all  His 
works  ;  for  there  the  Creator's  love,  and  wisdom,  and 
jDOwer  find  their  rest."  Thus  we  see  how  creation 
was  all  for  Jesus,  and,  so  far  as  man's  temporal  and 
spiritual  state  is  concerned,  all  terminates  in  Jesus. 
The  Incarnation  "  is  the  triumph  of  Creation, 
the  trium]3h  of  Redemption,  the  triumph  of  the 
sacred  humanity  of  Jesus,  the  triumph  of  the  Holy 
and  Undivided  Trinity,"  bringing  man  back  from 
the  power  of  Satan,  and  restoring  order  in  heaven 
and  throughout  a  sin-defiled  universe. 

In  the  life  the  Son  of  God  lived  in  the  flesh,  man 
sees  the  examj^le  of  a  sinless  being ;  sees  how  he 
would  have  acted  had  he  remained  unfallen ;  sees 
the  original  design  of  creation,  so  far  as  his  race  is 
concerned,  carried  to  completion  in  a  single  indi- 
vidual, the  life  of  the  Holy  One  shining  through  the 
veil  of  flesh.  He  was  the  first  jperfected  fruit ;  the 
beginning  and  fully  accomplished  design  of  crea- 
tion ;  the  entrance  of  God  into  His  own  works. 

Jesus,  being  the  first  fruits  of  that  union,  was 


LIFE   OF    GOD.  83 

the  type  of  all  similar  unions.  And  the  crown- 
ing glory  and  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  is  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  by  which  its  fruits  are  per- 
petuated on  earth.  Jesus  Jiid  Himself  in  the 
flesh,  that  man  might  receive  through  His  Body 
and  Blood,  after  a  heavenly  and  spiritual  man- 
ner, the  life  of  his  Creator,  the  Only  Begotten  Son 
of  God,  and  become  immortal  like  Him.  Here 
creation  ends.  It  cannot  rise  above  God.  Death 
takes  this  immortalized  and  sanctifled  soul  from  the 
earth  to  another  world  in  Paradise,  to  wait  for  a 
further  revelation  of  God,  even  the  knowledge  of 
His  now  hidden  nature.  At  the  Resurrection  it 
w411  know  God  even  as  it  is  known  by  Him.  By 
the  same  law,  though  the  process  doubtless  differs 
in  different  worlds,  the  Incarnation  is  working  the 
expulsion  of  moral  evil  from  all  worlds  but  Hell, 
and  the  regeneration  of  the  universe.  All  things 
will  be  "very  good  "  in  the  end,  as  they  were  at  the 
beginning,  and  God  will  again  rejoice  in  the  works 
of  His  own  creation. 

We  read  in  the  Words  of  God  of  the  goings  forth 
of  the  Father  Everlasting.  The  three  Revelations 
man  has  may  be  examples  of  a  series  of  such  goings 
forth,  which  are  registered  in  the  archives  of  eter- 
nity. This  world  owes  its  being  and  all  that  it  has 
that  is  great,  and  noble,  and  good,  to  these  Revela- 
tions. It  looks  forward  to  all  that  it  expects,  which 
is  wonderful  and  glorious,  to  another  such  going 
forth  as  God  has  promised  at  the  second  coming  of 
the  Son  to  judge  this  world. 

The  Incarnation  "  was  from  the  first  an  inten- 


84 


tional  part  of  the  immense  mercj  of  creation,  and 
did  not  merely  take  occasion  from  sin."  All  the 
beauty  and  bounty  of  creation  is  involved  in  it. 
By  and  For  and  From  Jesus  are  all  things.  "When 
the  Incarnation  was  ended,  Jesus  said,  "  It  is  fin- 
ished." The  Son  of  God  is  "  so  bound  up  with  the 
whole  of  creation,  with  Mature,  Grace  and  Glory ; 
with  tlie  past,  present  and  future,  with  God's  beha- 
vior to  us,  and  our  relations  with  Him,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  extract  the  Incarnation  from  creation 
in  the  present  dispensation  of  God." 

And  it  is  the  germ  of  the  last  grand  act  of  the 
present  creation,  out  of  which  a  new  eternal  heavens 
and  earth  are  to  come.  As  all  things  in  nature  are 
renewed  by  death,  so  do  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach 
that  worlds  are  destined  to  pass  through  similar 
changes  in  their  progress  to  perfection.  The  mys- 
terious shadows  of  the  Incarnation  throw  themselves 
forward  to  the  very  evening  of  time ;  and  God  does 
not  intend  they  shall  disapjDear  until  the  morning 
when  a  new  epoch  of  eternity  shall  begin  in  the 
entire  renovation  of  the  universe.  "  It  has  a  na- 
tionality above  all  the  little  nationalities  of  geog- 
raphy, government  or  blood.  It  has  thrown  down 
on  earth  the  partition  walls  of  tribes,  kindreds  and 
nations,  and  made  Jew  and  Greek,  Barbarian,  Scy- 
thian, bond  and  free,  into  one  heavenly  nation,  one 
complete  family  in  Jesus  Christ  the  Head."  And 
it  will  eventually  throw  down  the  partition  wall  of 
worlds  and  systems,  and  bring  all  the  holy  and  re- 
deemed children  of  God  into  one  universal  empire 
under  the  one,  once  Incarnate  Head,  Jesus  Christ. 


LIFE    OF    GOD.  85 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  Incarnation  is  one  of 
God's  means  for  perfecting  creation  ;  for  working 
np  the  mind  and  matter  of  the  nniverse  into  glori- 
fied, sinless  and  immortal  beings.  There  was  no 
more  accusation  in  heaven,  and  no  more  danger  of 
revolt  there,  after  the  Incarnation  had  wrought  its 
effectual  work ;  so  also  will  it  be  with  each  human 
soul  when  it  enters  Paradise  ;  it  will  be  freed  from 
fear,  from  sin,  and  from  danger  of  falling  from  God. 

^"either  of  the  other  Eevelations  can  be  under- 
stood without  the  Incarnation  ;  and  neither  of  the 
others  open  up  such  deep,  glorious  and  magnificent 
views  of  the  Creator  as  this  ;  and,  more  especially, 
man  could  not  understand  either  of  the  others  in 
relation  to  himself  until  after  it  had  taken  place. 

The  Person  who  assumed  the  flesh,  the  conse- 
quences of  its  assumption  to  man,  and  its  final 
results,  are  the  sublimest  mysteries  in  the  universe. 
It  is  not  a^j>«<92^  events  but  ever  present,  a  continuous 
"  living  life  "  of  God,  abiding  on  earth  and  in  man, 
as  the  means  of  his  connection  with  God  and  His 
Kingdom  of  Glory.  "  On  earth  as  well  as  in 
heaven  Jesus  Himself  is  the  Present  Centre  round 
which  all  the  elements  of  the  world  of  the  Incarna- 
tion are  perj)etually  revolving."  He  is  called 
"  the  Sun  of  Kighteousness,"  and  so  must  illumine 
all  worlds  where  Kighteousness  exists.  He  is  the 
source  of  all  holiness  on  earth ;  the  Life  of  each 
Christian,  and  of  the  whole  Church  :  Head  over  all 
things  to  the  Church,  which  includes  "  principali- 
ties and  powers  in  heavenly  places,"  and  the  as- 
sembly of  tlie  first  born,  and  all  the  sons  of  God. 


86  THE  incarnation; 

He  was  the  Alpha,  and  will  be  the  Omega  in  fin- ' 
ishing  the  work  of  creation.  When  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  have  accomplished  the  Divine  pur- 
poses, filled  up  the  number  of  the  elect  in  the  one, 
and  completed  the  Kingdom  of  Glory  in  the  other, 
then,  the  present  creation  being  no  longer  needed, 
will  be  burned  up.  When  Christ  comes  again  there 
is  to  be  a  wonderful  change.  St.  Peter  says  of  the 
present  matter,  that  "the  heavens  shall  pass  away 
with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt 
with  fervent  heat ;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works 
that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up."  And  he 
speaks  of  all  these  things  as  being  "  dissolved^ 
And  St.  Paul  says  that  ''tlie  Saviour,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be 
fashioned  like  unto  His  glorious  body,"  and  in  that 
our  spirits  will  live  for  ever. 

By  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  man  learns 
that  He  has  an  eternal  life ;  a  life  which,  though 
connected  with  a  body  that  came  out  of  the  earth, 
will  outlive  it,  and  be  young  and  immortal  when 
creation  shall  have  accomplished  its  destiny,  and 
been  blotted  from  space.  "  For  the  Kingdom,  the 
Glory  and  the  Power  of  this  world,  and  all  other 
worlds,  past,  present  and  to  come,  belong  to  Him 
who  spared  not  His  Only-Begotten  Son,  but  freely 
gave  Him  for  us,  and  will  with  Him  freely  give  us 
all  things." 

A  blessed  effect  of  the  Incarnation  was  felt  in 
other  worlds  by  putting  an  end  to  the  probationary 
condition  of  the  angels.  The  power  of  Satan  to 
tempt  them  was  destroyed  by  the  coming  of  our 


LIFE    OF    GOD.  87 

Saviour ;  so  that  in  this  sense  He  was  their  Saviour 
also.  He  was  overcome  and  cast  out  of  heaven  by 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

Every  stage  of  progress  man  makes  in  knowl- 
edge of  the  Incarnation  is  a  disclosure  of  more  of 
the  grace  and  glory  of  God,  and  the  grand  result  of 
his  entrance  into  a  future  life  will  be  the  unveiling 
of  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation. 


88  THE   GOSPEL   A  MYSTEEY. 


CHAPTEK  y. 


THE    GOSPEL    A    JVIYSTERY. 


"  "We  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery." 

St.  Paul. 


By  the  Gospel  is  here  meant  the  whole  Kew  Testa- 
ment. It  has  three  parts  :  the  History  of  the  In- 
carnation ;  its  influence  on  the  world  for  the  first 
century  ;  and  the  Apocalyptic  Eevelation  of  its  final 
efifects  on  the  universe. 

The  Old  Testament  is  a  history  of  the  beginning 
and  development  of  a  new  physical  race  of  beings  ; 
the  ISTew  is  the  history  of  the  beginning  and  partial 
development  of  a  new  moral  race  of  creatures, 
created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus.     The  original  crea- 

*  St.  Paul,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  intimates  the  connection  be- 
tween Creation  and  the  Gospel.  He  says  the  design  of  the  Gospel  is 
"  to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  fellon'ship  of  the  mystery,  which  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  hath  been  hid  in  God,  who  created  all 
things  by  Jesus  Christ." 


THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY.  89 

tion  of  man  was  short  and  easy,  by  the  will  and 
Word  of  God.  But  the  second  creation  was  through 
the  sorrow  and  sufferings,  the  bloody  sweat  and 
agonizing  death  of  the  same  Word ;  on  Him  was 
built  the  new  creation,  the  new  kingdom,  created 
out  of  the  former,  but  reneioed  in  Christ. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  told  His  disciples  it  was 
expedient  that  He  should  go  away,  or  the  Com- 
forter would  not  come.  It  was  better,  because  He 
was  to  inspire  them  to  write  the  Gospel,  which  the 
world  otherwise  would  not  have  had ;  better,  be- 
cause Christ's  bodily  presence  could  be  in  but  one 
place  at  a  time ;  while  the  Holy  Spirit  is  every 
where  over  all  the  world,  and  in  the  soul  of  every 
believer  at  the  same  time ;  better  because  He  was 
going  to  prepare  places  for  them  in  heaven.  Both 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Gospel  He 
inspired  the  disciples  to  write,  are  sequences  of  the 
Incarnation. 

The  Gospel  teaches  that  the  highest  object  of 
the  Incarnation  was  to  make  known  God's  love. 
'^  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  Only 
Begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  The 
Gospel  is  the  complete  revelation  of  this  doctrine, 
made  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  after  our  Lord's  ascension 
to  heaven,  when  the  necessity  for  concealing  the 
Incarnation  was  removed. 

The  Holy  Ghost  then  descended  to  abide  on 
earth.  This  restored  the  connection  between  heaven 
and  earth,  and  God  and  man.  The  Spirit  of  God 
who  is  in  heaven  is  on  earth,  directing  the  whole 


90  THE   GOSPEL    A   MYSTEEY. 

Chnrcli  and  dwelling  in  eacli  regenerate  soul.  The 
life  of  God  which  was  in  the  Son  of  man  was  there 
by  the  overshadowing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  was 
the  type  of  human  regeneration.  The  life  of  Jesus 
is  the  life  of  God.  His  own  words  are,  "  He  who 
hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father."  And  he  who 
reads  His  life  in  the  Gospel  reads  the  life  of  God, 
for  He  must  live  the  same  life  in  the  flesh  that  He 
does  in  the  Spirit ;  and  he  sees  there  what  sort  of  a 
life,  so  far  as  its  benevolence  and  holiness  are  re- 
vealed, all  mankind  would  have  led  if  sin  had  never 
entered  the  world.  And  he  who  follows  the  exam- 
ple of  Christ,  having  been  regenerated  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  has  the  life  of  God,  and  is  so  far  like  Him  as 
he  is  conformed  to  His  Son.  Thus  the  Gospel 
teaches  how  creation  is  completed  by  the  Incarna- 
tion in  the  bodies  of  mortal  man. 

The  explanation,  like  the  Author  of  it  and  all 
His  works,  is  a  mystery.  It  is  a  secret  of  God  ;  and 
while  it  explains  some  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Old 
Testament,  it  utters  new  ones  of  its  own.  It  is  a 
mystery  wdien,  where,  and  how^  it  was  written  ;  how 
it  prevailed  over  the  world ;  and  its  doctrines  of 
the  Incarnation,  the  Trinity,  the  Resurrection,  the 
Ascension,  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  especially  its  Apoc- 
alypse, which  contains  a  prophetical  history  of  the 
Church  to  the  world's  end,  are  all  mysterious.  In- 
deed, all  it  reveals  would  have  been  unknown  but 
for  Christ ;  and  possibly  man  could  not  have  guessed 
wdiy  the  life  of  Christ,  the  Founder  of  the  Gospel, 
was  mysterious,  which,  when  explained,  is  so  easily 
understood,  without  the  reason  given  by  St.  Paul : 


THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY.  91 

"  Which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew,  for 
had  they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified 
the  Lord  of  Glory."  If  His  Godhead  had  been  re- 
vealed it  would  have  thwarted  the  very  purpose  of 
His  great  sacrificial  mission. 

The  Gospel  was  written  from  five  to  fifteen 
hundred  years  later  than  the  Old  Testament,  by  men 
without  earthly  culture,  yet  the  sentiments  are  the 
same  as  in  the  Old,  and  the  words  of  God's  Spirit 
are  delivered  in  the  same  hidden  w\^y  that  the  words 
of  His  Son  were  in  the  Old.  They  are  not  only 
perfectly  consistent,  but  all  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  discernible  in  the  I^ew. 

The  internal  evidence  of  the  two  parts  of  Divine 
revelation  indicates  a  common  origin,  and  that  they 
are  the  product  of  One  Mind.  The  Gospel  shows 
that  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  were  ful- 
filled in  the  same  mysterious  manner  in  which  they 
were  delivered.  The  former  foretold  that  Christ 
would  be  born  in  Bethlehem,  and  He  was ;  yet  the 
latter  states  that  He  seemedj  to  His  contemporaries  to 
be  a  Nazarene  or  Galilean.  The  writers  of  the  Is'ew 
Testament  manifest  the  same  majestic  indifference 
to  criticism  that  the  prophets  did  ;  the  same  bold- 
ness in  reproving  sin  ;  the  same  freedom  in  speaking 
of  their  humble  condition,  weakness  and  failings. 
Ko  other  such  biography  or  narrative  was  ever 
written  by  man.  It  gives  the  deepest  insight  into 
the  character  and  springs  of  action  of  its  Eepresen- 
tative  Men,  of  St.  John,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  of 
Judas  and  Pilate,  such  as  no  man  can  give  of  his 
most  intimate  friends. 


92  THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTEKY. 

The  liistoiy  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  onr  Lord 
is  the  masterpiece  of  human  writing.  All  that  He 
said  and  did  is  there  embodied  with  astonishing 
vividness.  Though  His  infancy  was  hidden  in 
Egypt,  his  youth  in  ISTazareth,  and  His  active  life 
lasted  but  three  years,  no  man  who  ever  lived  has 
left  such  a  full  and  satisfactory  account  of  Himself 
and  His  teaching.  The  New  Testament  takes  us 
into  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  men  of  that 
generation,  and  shows  them  in  all  the  trials, 
sufferings  and  duties  of  life,  so  plainly  and  con- 
cisely, that  now,  after  eighteen  centuries  of  pro- 
gress, there  is  no  man  living  who  could  express 
these  things  like  the  Evangelists  and  Apostles  of 
Christ.  And  no  candid  mind  will  deny,  that  men 
of  so  little  culture  could  not  have  so  written  unless 
they  had  been  moved,  as  they  say  they  were,  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Creator  of  man's  spirit. 

It  surpasses  all  other  books  in  the  purity  and 
justice  of  its  maxims ;  in  its  summaries  of  human 
duty  ;  in  its  truths  relating  to  the  highest  human 
interests  ;  in  the  brevity  with  which  they  are  ex- 
pressed ;  and  in  the  beauty  of  their  imagery.  It 
contains  a  larger  amount  of  pure  ethical  knowledge 
tlian  any  other  book  in  the  world;  reveals  facts 
which  none  but  God  could,  and  in  the  manner  the 
best  adapted  to  touch  the  heart  and  conscience,  the 
imagination  and  soul  of  man. 

There  is  also  a  remarkable  correspondence  in 
the  difficulties  of  both  revelations.  The  Gospel, 
unlike  the  Old  Testament,  has  never  had  immoral- 


THE    GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY.  93 

ity  laid  to  its  charge,  yet  it  lias  difficulties  wliicli 
the  unbelieving  find  it  as  hard  to  reconcile.  But 
God  is  consistent  with  Himself  in  all  things.  He 
has  hidings  here  as  every  where  else.  The  discre- 
pancies are  not  vital.  For  example,  Matthew  and 
Mark  say  the  robbers  who  were  crucified  with  our 
Lord  reviled  Him  ;  while  Luke  says  only  one  did 
so.  The  two  former  may  have  written  from  hear- 
say, the  latter  may  have  been  present  and  heard 
for  himself.  The  difference  is  of  no  consequence, 
and  all  are  agreed  on  the  important  point,  that  He 
was  reviled  on  the  Cross  by  one  who  w^as  crucified 
with  Him. 

A  similar  discrepancy  occurs  respecting  the 
time  the  devil  made  the  ofi'er  of  all  the  world  to  our 
Lord,  if  He  would  worship  him.  Matthew  repre- 
sents it  as  after  he  had  taken  Him  into  a  mountain 
and  shown  Him  all  the  glory  of  the  world ;  and 
Luke  places  it  after  the  temptation  to  cast  Himself 
from  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple.  Both  agree  as  to 
the  main  facts  of  our  Lord's  tem2:)tation  and  resist- 
ance ;  the  detail  is  of  no  consequence. 

Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke,  say  that  the  Baptist 
knew  onr  Lord  when  He  came  to  be  baptized  ;  and 
John  says  he  knew  Him  not  until  the  Holy  Ghost 
descended  on  Him.  It  doubtless  means  that  he 
knew  him  not  as  the  Ifessias.  The  main  fact  of  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  jointly  witnessed  by 
all  of  them. 

This  want  of  harmony  in  the  detail  of  the  narra- 
tive, is  one  of  the  best  evidences  the  world  has  of 


94  THE    GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY. 

the  geniiineness  and  autlienticity  of  the  Gospels,  and 
that  there  was  no  concert  aniong  the  writers  to 
make  their  narratives  agree.  They  are  such  as  con- 
stantly occnr  in  all  honest  w^riters,  and  in  all  testi- 
mony given  in  courts  of  justice  by  the  best  meaning 
honest  men.  It  shows  that  they  were  honest  men, 
and  faithfully  recorded  exactly  what  they  heard, 
and  saw,  and  believed  to  be  true. 

This  obscurity  in  spiritual  matters  is  like  the 
difficulties  we  meet  in  natural  things.  The  growth 
of  grain  is  a  mystery,  but  this  does  not  prevent  our 
raising  and  living  on  it.  It  is  no  just  cause  of 
complaint.  The  Creator  has  an  unquestionable 
right  to  encompass  His  works  with  laws  to  please 
Himself.  Neither  is  the  obscurity  of  the  Gospel 
any  bar  to  our  happiness.  Indeed,  in  both  cases, 
instead  of  being  an  objection,  it  is  cause  for  thank- 
fulness. The  exercise  of  the  mind  in  searching  into 
the  secrets  of  the  natural  world,  into  their  unspeak- 
able beauty  and  fitness  to  accomplish  the  Creator's 
designs,  is  one  of  man's  sweetest  earthly  enjoyments. 
So  also  is  it  in  the  spiritual  world.  The  study  ne- 
qessary  to  comprehend  the  hidden  truth  of  tlie 
Gospel  sharpens  the  intellectual  faculties,  and 
awakens  the  truest  delight. 

AVhat  is  plain  in  the  Gospel  secures  tlie  happi- 
ness of  all  w^ho  practise  it.  The  mysteries  teach  us 
that  God  is  infinite,  and  the  investigation  of  them 
expands  our  souls.  The  little  clues  of  Divine  Wis- 
dom we  get  hold  of  fill  us  with  delight,  and  awaken 
the  assurance  that,  by  and  by,  death  will  rend  the 
veil,  and  we  shall  see  how  they  were  ordained  for 


THE    GOSPEL    A    MYSTERY.  95 

our  glory.  Here  the  study  elevates  us  and  lifts  the 
mind  to  clearer  perceptions  of  spiritual  things,  and 
of  God  Himself. 

The  title  "  Light  of  the  World,"  given  to  our 
Blessed  Lord  in  the  Gospel,  affords  another  remark- 
able analogy  between  the  natural  and  spiritual 
things.  The  introduction  of  light  into  our  solar  sys- 
tem was  an  important  part  of  creation.  The  bring- 
ing of  life  and  immortality  to  light  was  a  not  less 
important  part  of  Kedemption.  Both  are  involved 
in  impenetrable  mystery.  And  a  sunbeam,  com- 
posed of  heat,  light,  and  actinism,  is  as  great  a  mys- 
ter}^  as  the  adorable  Trinity,  which  existed  in  the 
one  ray  of  moral  light  and  perfection  let  down  from 
heaven  in  God's  Eternal  Son.  And  there  is  another 
remarkable  analogy  between  these  two  mysterious 
powers.  As  the  dawning  sunlight  did  not  dispel 
all  the  darkness  from  our  system,  but  left  half  of 
its  planets  always  in  darkness,  which  continually 
mixes  with  and  obscures  the  light ;  so  also  lias  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  diffused  only  light  enough  to 
partially  dispel  the  moral  darkness  of  its  inhabi- 
tants. If  the  analogy  be  carried  to  its  conclusion, 
then,  as  our  sun  liglitens  its  whole  system  of  worlds, 
so  must  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  the  system  to 
which  He  belongs,  which  is  the  whole  universe  of 
God. 

Before  man  or  his  world  were  created  God  had 
planned  the  law ;  yea,  God  has  had  but  one  law 
from  everlasting,  by  which  man  was  to  be  governed 
in  time  and  eternity.  K  it  w^ere  true  of  the  Old 
Testament  tliat  il  was  part  of  a  universal  law,  much 


96 


THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY. 


more  is  it  of  tlie  JN'ew.  The  great  central  idea  of 
the  Gospel  is  love  :  "  Grocl  is  love."  This  is  the  basis 
of  all  His  revelations  to  man.  It  must  be  also  of 
all  His  revelations  throughout  the  universe,  be- 
cause it  is  the  nature  of  God,  only  it  is  modified  to 
suit  the  various  conditions  of  His  creatures. 

The  Gospel  is  another  and  fuller  view  of  the 
great  moral  law  revealed  by  God  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  universe.  He  is  unchangeable  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting,  and  so  must  His  law  be. 
Its  internal  evidence  sanctions  this  opinion.  Some 
of  its  chants,  and  hymns,  and  doxologies  are  in  the 
actual  words  received  from  the  angels,  or  said  to  be 
used  in  the  worship  of  God  in  heaven.  Some  of 
its  doctrines  the  angels  desire  to  look  into,  and,  like 
ourselves,  cannot.  God  can  represent  Himself  to 
spirits  with  no  other  attributes  than  He  does  to  us, 
as  a  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  Love.  These  facts  are  evi- 
dences of  the  universality  of  the  truth  of  the  Gos- 
pel. The  praise  and  adoration  which  it  requires  of 
man,  God  demands  from  all  intelligent  beings  in 
the  universe. 

The  Decalogue  and  ceremonial  law,  so  far  as 
they  related  to  earthly  things,  were  designed  spe- 
cially for  man  in  his  present  state.  Yet  the  latter 
was  made  after  a  heavenly  pattern,  and  some  of 
the  laws  of  the  "Two  Tables  "  are  of  a  mixed  char- 
acter, suited  to  spirits  as  well  as  men.  The  first 
commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  God  but 
me,"  is  of  universal  obligation.  That  some  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  are  beyond  the  capacity  of 
the  largest  human  minds  to  grasp  is  another  proof 


THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY.  97 

that  they  are  part  of  a  system  embracing  higher 
orders  of  beings.  If  it  related  only  to  man,  and  had 
nothing  above  his  reason,  he  might  well  donbt 
whether  there  were  any  beiiig  in  the  universe  su- 
perior to  himself,  and,  in  his  present  fallen  state, 
conclude  that  nature  was  the  result  of  chance,  and 
man  its  most  marvellous  production. 

The  Gospel  is  the  w^isdom  of  God,  the  Creator 
of  the  world,  because  it  speaks  knowingly  of  all 
that  belongs  to  it,  and  of  its  final  destiny.  "VYhat  it 
says  of  its  destruction  is  rendered  in  the  highest  de- 
gree probable  by  the  combustible  nature  of  which 
science  teaches  its  material  is  composed.  And 
whether  viewed  practically  or  speculatively  it  con- 
tains the  highest  wisdom.  Wisdom  is  the  highest 
attribute  of  intelligent  beings,  and  that  of  the  Gos- 
pel is  the  highest  known  to  man.  It  reveals  things 
of  a  future  life  and  world,  before  unknown  to  man, 
and  which  he  never  could  have  discovered  without 
it ;  hence  it  must  be  from  the  God  who  created 
man.  Obedience  to  its  laws  makes  man  happy ; 
hence  it  must  be  from  God  the  Creator  of  the  world, 
who  represents  Himself  as  man's  Father.  Its  prin- 
ciples are  founded  on  perfect  justice  and  goodness  ; 
hence  it  must  be  the  work  of  the  one  only  true  God, 
the  Father  Everlasting.  He  revealed  it  to  make 
Himself  known  to  man.  Its  great  aim  is  to  unfold, 
so  far  as  man  in  his  present  state  can  understand  it, 
the  Divine  justice  and  mercy,  and  goodness  and 
love.  These  were  dimly  shadowed  forth  to  Adam 
after  the  fall;  substantially  covenanted  to  Abra- 
ham ;  ceremonially  brought  to  view  with  the  Israel 
5 


98  THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY. 

ites  ;  prospectively  developed  in  the  Theocracy  ; 
illumined  by  the  prophets  ;  and  at  last  burst  forth 
in  the  full  splendor  of  their  glory  in  the  life  and 
immortality  brought  to  liglit  in  the  Gospel,  when 
creation  was  finished  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  in 
the  revelation  of  the  kingdom  not  of  this  world,  in 
wdiich  man  with  all  the  children  of  God  can  enjoy 
His  love,  and  glory,  and  rest.  Thus  the  Gospel 
shows  the  Incarnation  to  be  the  finishing  act  of 
creation. 

It  is  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  Creator,  because  it 
is  superior  to  all  other  real  or  pretended  revelations 
man  has  ever  had.  It  makes  known  more  fully 
than  was  ever  before  known  the  Infinite  goodness 
of  God  ;  and  the  Infinite  plan  which  He  devised  by 
the  death  of  His  Only  Begotten  Son  to  make  that 
goodness  known.  It  is  the  wisdom  of  God,  because 
obedience  to  its  precepts  produces  the  highest  happi- 
ness of  which  human  nature  is  capable,  because  it 
assures  it  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  eter- 
nal life  ;  and  because  it  makes  known  the  eternity 
and  omnipotence,  the  wisdom  and  love  of  the  Di- 
vine Being,  and  that  He  governs  the  planets  and 
controls  the  afi'airs  of  men  :  and  that  the  kin^rdom 
of  God  on  earth  is  destined  to  become  a  part  of  the 
consolidated  government  of  the  Father  Everlasting, 
in  which  man  will  live  and  reign  with  Him  for  ever. 

St.  Paul  calls  this  wisdom  of  God  the  "  unsearcliT 
able  riches  of  Christ,"  ^  because  the  central  fact  of 


*  Gal.  i.,  12,  says  it  is  not  in  man,  but  he  received  it  by  Reve- 
lation from  God. 


THE    GOSPEL   A   MYSTERY.  99 

it  is,  that  God  gave  Him  to  die  for  the  world.  Al- 
though we  know  not  all  the  blessings  which  it  has 
wroiight  for  man,  yet  we  learn  something  of  ''  the 
fellowsUiJ  of  the  mystery  which  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world  hath  been  hid  in  God,''  .  .  .  which  is, 
that,  as  God  is  in  Christ,  so  is  Christ  in  man,  a  part 
of  him,  through  union  with  His  Body  the  Church ; 
"  to  the  intent,  that  7iow  tmto  the  ^principalities 
and-  powers  in  heavenly  jplaces  might  be  known 
by  THE  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God."* 
This  establishes  the  fact  that  it  is  a  part  erf  a  reve- 
lation to  higher  orders  of  beings  than  man,  and 
must  necessarily  contain  some  things  incomprehen- 
sible to  the  lower  orders,  as  it  declares  it  does  some 
unknown  to  the  higher,  f 

This  is  no  objection  to  the  Kevelation,  It  shows 
that  its  Author  is  what  He  represents  Himself,  an 
Infinite  Being.  It  is  designed  to  elevate  and  edu- 
cate man  to  live  with  higher  orders  of  beings.  It 
is  reasonable  to  believe  that  as  things  exist,  this 
could  be  done  in  no  other  way  than  by  an  educa- 
tion based  on  the  study  of  such  superior  wisdom. 
It  is  also  an  evidence  that  that  which  man  has  is  a 
part  of  all  the  Revelation  which  God  has  made  to 
all  the  universe ;  that  much  of  what  is  obscure  to 
him  is  probably  plain  to  the  higher  orders,  and  will 
be  so  to  him  when  he  passes  to  a  future  life,  for 
which  he  was  created,  and  for  which  the  mysteries 
of  the  Gospel  are  now  educating  him. 

The  mysteries  are  not   objectionable,  because 

*  Eph.  iii.  9,  10.  t  1  ^^^'  ^'  ^2- 


100  THE   GOSPEL    A   MYSTEKT. 

they  do  not  j^i'e^ent  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  the 
blessings  of  the  Revelation.  The  analogies  of  this 
world  show  this.  The  man  who  does  not  understand 
the  principles  of  the  steam-engine  shares  as  largely 
in  its  benefits  as  he  who  does.  We  are  as  happy 
with  our  present  capacity,  if  we  live  up  to  the  law 
of  the  Gospel,  as  we  should  be  if  we  comprehended 
all  its  mysteries.  It  is  delivered  in  this  manner  for 
our  good,  and,  instead  of  being  a  cause  of  com- 
plaint, should  be  one  of  thankfulness.  Only  that 
which  is  superior  to  reason  cannot  draw  out  its 
highest  powers ;  and  God  has  planned  this  mystery 
with  direct  reference  to  the  development  of  the 
human  soul. 

Indeed  mysteries  lie  along  the  pathway  of  all 
knowledge.  There  is  no  progress  for  man  but  by 
and  through  the  resolution  of  mysteries.  In  the 
natural  as  well  as  spiritual  world  he  who  best  ap- 
plies his  mind  to  the  understanding  of  their  myste- 
ries becomes  the  wisest. 

There  is  enough  revealed,  which  is  practical,  to 
raise  man  to  the  highest  condition  of  spiritual  en- 
lightenment and  moral  purity  of  which  his  fallen 
nature  is  capable ;  enough  to  do  this  can  be  under- 
stood by  the  humblest.  And  the  ablest  and  most 
studious  are  alike  compelled  to  admit,  that  is  the 
wisdom  of  God  too  deep  for  man  to  fathom. 

The  revelation  God  has  made  of  Himself  in  the 
Gospel,  that  He  "  is  a  Spirit,"  must  be  the  same 
which  He  has  made  to  all  intelligent  beings.  This 
is  an  evidence  of  the  universality  of  its  fundamental 
truths.     To  spirits  their  own   nature  may  not  be 


THE    GOSPEL    A    ISIYSTEEY.  101 

mysterious  ;  but  a  spirit  is  independent  of  visi- 
ble objects,  and  man  cannot  conceive  of  a  being 
"  without  body,  parts,  or  passions,"  and  has  no  ob- 
ject of  comparison,  except  his  own  spirit,  of 
which  he  really  knows  nothing  more  than  he  does 
of  God. 

It  is  then  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  the  Gos- 
pel was  so  delivered  on  account  of  the  nature  of  both 
God  and  man  ;  because  it  is  part  of  the  general  law 
of  the  universe,  and  because  in  this  way  only  would 
it  control  man.  The  reverence  he  feels  for  his 
Creator  is  caused  mainly  by  the  superiority  he  dis- 
covers in  Him.  Without  obscurity  there  will  be  no 
inquiry,  and  without  inquiry  there  will  be  neither 
awe  nor  adoration.  Man's  interest  in  spiritual 
things  depends  entirely  on  their  mystery ;  his  men- 
tal and  moral  elevation  depends  mainly  on  it,  and 
to  wish  all  things  which  come  from  God  otheriuise^ 
would  be  to  desire  our  own  degradation. 

If  there  were  nothing  more  to  be  discovered  in 
art  or  science  there  would  be  an  end  to  human  en- 
terprise and  progress.  If  there  were  but  two  per- 
sons in  the  world  who  understood  the  principle  of 
the  steam-engine,  or  the  electric  telegraph,  millions 
would  daily  speculate  about  the  mystery ;  multi- 
tudes know,  and  they  excite  neither  wonder  nor  in- 
terest. It  would  soon  be  the  same  with  the  mys- 
teries of  religion  if  they  could  be  fathomed  as  easily. 
It  is  man's  nature  to  lightly  esteem  whatever  is  not 
superior  to  himself.  It  is  because  his  soul  is  immor- 
tal ;  because  he  has  within  him  the  Spirit  of  God ; 
and  because  he  is  destined  to  a  higher  state  of  ex- 


102  THE    GOSPEL    A   MYSTERY. 

istence,  that  nothing  earthly  satisfies  him.  Thus 
analogy  and  human  observation  confirm  the  words 
of  the  Apostle,  that  the  Gospel  is  the  wisdom  of 
God,  of  God  the  Father  of  man,  because  it  is 
adapted  to  his  nature,  which  no  one  but  his  Crea- 
tor could  so  thoroughly  know. 

Make  the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel  as  familiar  as 
the  engine  and  telegraph,  and  they  would  neither 
be  adapted  to  control  nor  elevate  man.  So  that  hu- 
man reason  discerns  that  it  is  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  why  it  was  so  given.  Another  use  of  the  mys- 
tery is  to  keep  him  humble.  It  corrects  pride, 
which  is  one  of  the  prolific  sources  of  sin  in  all 
intelligent  beings.  It  says  to  pride  of  reason,  these 
simple  truths  of  thy  God  are  unfathomable  by  thee ; 
these  are  the  boundaries  of  all  thy  might  of  intel- 
lect, here  it  must  stop. 

Because  man  is  conscious  of  an  immortal  nature, 
and  that  the  narrow  boundaries  of  earth  and  time 
are  not  the  limits  of  his  being,  he  is  constantly  prone 
to  pride.  Hence  God  has  gi^^en  him  a  revelation  to 
meet  this  tendency  of  his  fallen  nature,  as  a  means 
to  restrain  him,  and  as  a  safeguard  against  its  weak- 
ness. Pride,  the  desire  to  be  like  God,  brought 
death  and  ruin  upon  our  world,  and  it  is  by  humbling 
pride  that  man  rises  above  the  power  of  death  into 
an  immortal  life  in  a  future  world.  He  has  an  in- 
satiable thirst  for  all  knowledge,  reaching  far  be- 
yond his  present  state,  to  the  one  for  which  he  was 
created.  But  he  cannot  be  satisfied  here.  God 
requires  him  to  be  content  with  what  He  has  re- 
vealed, which  he  can  understand  ;  and  tells  him  if 


THE    GOSPEL    A    MYSTERY.  103 

lie  will  meekly  obey  it,  it  will  conduct  him  to 
heaven,  the  home  of  his  God,  and  the  fountain  of 
all  knowledge  ;  to  a  state  and  world  vastly  superior 
to  the  one  lost  by  Adam's  sin. 

The  Gospel  in  a  mystery  is  gradually  training 
man  for  a  full  understanding  of  the  unveiled  myste- 
ries of  God  which  are  reserved  to  complete  his 
future  haj)piness.  "  E'ow,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  we  see 
through  a  glass  darkly  ;  "  but  hereafter  we  shall  see 
as  we  are  seen,  and  know  as  we  are  known.  At 
death  we  shall  enter  on  a  higher  and  eternal  state 
of  being,  and  the  effect  is  to  prepare  the  mind  for 
a  full  knowledge  of  all  that  is  now  mysterious.  It 
is  doubtless  essential  to  our  happiness  there,  that 
here  we  go  through  this  elementary  training  for  a 
world  where  all  things  are  mysterious  to  a  being 
like  man.  By  the  partial  revelation  of  these  things 
in  the  Works  and  Words  of  God,  He  is  fitting  us  to 
behold  "  the  hidden  glories  of  His  nature,  and  to  be 
transported  with  a  nobler  kind  of  wonder  ;  not  the 
result  of  ignorance,  but  the  product  of  a  clearer  and 
more  advanced  knowledge."  A  part  of  the  bliss 
of  heaven  will  consist  in  studying  the  Works  and 
AYords  of  God,  one  of  which  "  was  ordained  before 
the  world  unto  our  glory." 

In  man's  present  fallen  state  faith  increases  his 
knowledge  and  enlarges  his  capacity  to  comprehend. 
But  hereafter,  when  he  reaches  the  world  of  glory, 
faith  will  be  lost  in  sight,  and  he  will  see  God  in 
the  fulness  of  His  Infinite  Wisdom. 

But  the  greatest  advantage  of  the  mystery  is  its 
quickening  power  on  the  intellect ;  nothing  else  so 


104:  THE   GOSPEL   A    MYSTERY. 

touclies  tlie  liuman  soul.  An  Apostle  says,  It  is 
sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,  and  is  the  sword 
of  God's  Spirit.  Its  study  exerts  a  powerful  influ- 
ence on  man's  spirit.  It  is  the  great  fertilizer  of  his 
moral  and  spiritual  being.  The  soul  ripens  under 
its  light  as  the  trees  unfold  their  flowers  and  ripen 
their  fruits  under  the  mysterious  power  of  simlight. 
Jesus  said,  "  I  am  the  Light  of  the  World ;  "  and, 
again,  "  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are 
Spirit,  and  they  are  life." 

Whatever  man  knows  of  the  infinite  or  of  the 
future  has  come  from  God.  As  in  his  spiritual  na- 
ture he  is  the  child  and  image  of  God,  so  also,  so  far 
as  he  can  understand  and  practise  the  Gospel  does 
he  become  like  God,  who  is  the  sublimest  mystery 
in  the  universe.  From  this  wisdom  of  God  in  the 
mystery  of  the  Gospel  continually  radiates  a  Divine 
force  which  tells  upon  human  character  and  destiny. 
Whatever  is  noble  or  elevated  in  man  is  the  result 
of  his  resemblance  to  God.  And  the  more  he 
studies  the  Gospel  the  more  he  understands  the 
wonderful  wisdom  of  its  Author,  and  the  more  is  he 
changed  into  His  moral  likeness,  and  fitted  for  His 
Presence.  The  Life  of  Jesus  Christ  recorded  there 
is  the  Life  of  God.  "  There  is  no  longer  doubt  what 
God  is  like  ;  for  God  is  like  Jesus  Christ.  He  who 
has  seen  Jesus  Christ,  as  his  character  stands  in  the 
Gospel,  has  seen  God  the  Father.  Man  can  now 
be  like  God,  for  there  was  once  a  man  on  earth, 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  the  Blessed  Yirgin,  who  was  per- 
fectly like  God.  And  He  was  like  God,  because 
He  was  God,  and  because  He  was  God  for  that 


THE   GOSPEL   A   MYSTEKY.  105 

very  reason,"  and  for  that  reason  only  man  can  be- 
come like  Him. 

Such  are  some  of  the  reasons,  nses,  and  practical 
effects  of  the  mystery  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  every 
way  adaj)ted  to  man's  nature,  and  every  way  worthy 
the  wisdom  and  love  of  that  Beneficent  Being  who 
condescends  to  allow  us  to  address  Him  as  our  Fa- 
ther, and  who  is  our  Creator  and  God.  As  a  whole 
it  is  new  and  admirable  proof  of  the  Divinity  of 
man's  origin  and  nature,  and  of  the  connection  of 
himself,  his  revelation,  and  his  world  with  all  the 
intelligent  beings  of  the  universe.  And  it  is  another 
link  in  the  chain  of  mind  and  matter,  of  power  and 
labor,  which  binds  them  all  in  a  sublime  unity  in 
the  Creator. 

The  circumstantial  and  internal  evidence  of  the 
authenticity  of  the  New  Testament  is  sufficient  to 
satisfy  every  reasonable  mind.  It  was  written  by 
different  men,  in  different  countries,  during  an  in- 
terval of  three  quarters  of  a  century.  And  being 
brought  together  and  bound  into  one  volume,  they 
jointly  show  that  one  spirit  and  one  motive  ani- 
mated all  the  writers,  and  that  they  all  wrote  under 
the  direction  of  one  mind,  which  was  pure  and 
holy.  There  is  but  one  Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of 
God  the  Creator ;  and  to  suppose  that  so  many 
men  should  have  so  written,  all  the  circumstances 
oeing  considered,  except  by  the  direction  of  God's 
Spirit,  which  they  expressly  declare  was  the  case, 
is  to  suppose  a  greater  miracle  than  any  recorded 
in  their  writings. 

5* 


106        THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

"  Heaven  is  my  throne,  earth  is  my  footstool." 

The  Prophet  Isaiah. 

These  words  of  God  are  found  in  both  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament.  To  those  who  have  clear  and 
enlarged  views  of  the  Creator,  they  hardly  s-eem 
like  figurative  language.  But,  whatever  they  may 
be,  they  teach  that  an  entire  unity  exists  between 
these,  to  man,  seemingly  separate  parts  of  creation. 
The  earth  is  but  a  globule  of  the  universe,  eight 
thousand  miles  in  diameter,  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand in  circumference,  travelling  round  the  sun  with 
the  electrical  force  and  speed  of  sixty-eight  thousand 
miles  an  hour,  and  revolving  on  its  axis  a  thousand 
miles  an  hour.  These  rates,  which  seem  to  be 
enormous,  are  comparatively  slow  ;  the  one  only 
eight  and  a  half  times  the  length  of  its  diameter  23er 
hour,  and  the  other  only  one  twenty-fifth  part  of 
its  circumference  in  the  same  time.  These  complex 
motions  are  perfectly  harmonious,  and  produce  all 
the  agreeable  changes  of  the  seasons,  and  of  day  and 


THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       107 

night.  It  occupies  no  prominent  place  in  the  sys- 
tem to  which  it  belongs,  and  is  pliysically  an  unim- 
portant part  of  it. 

If  we  descend  from  generalities  to  what  is  par- 
ticularly known  of  God's  works  on  earth,  and  from 
which  all  knowledge  of  other  worlds  must  be  mainly 
inferred,  we  find  ourselves  riding  on  a  huge  oblate 
spheroid  of  land  and  water,  "just  on  the  confines  of 
solid  and  fluid,  so  commingled  as  to  subserve  or- 
ganic and  specially  human  life."  Its  land  and  water 
both  teem  with  living  creatures,  and  each  is  mu- 
tually adapted  to  the  other,  and  ''  it  is  specially 
beautiful  because  specially  habitable."  Since 
science  has  rendered  it  probable  that  the  moon  is 
uninhabited,  men  have  lost  all  interest  in  her. 

The  earth  appears  to  be  the  paradise,  or  garden 
of  the  solar  system  to  which  it  belongs,  in  fitness 
for  the  abode  of  physical  beings  ;  and  the  sight, 
sound  and  motion  of  its  living  things,  are  its  chief 
charm  and  beauty.  Its  animal  and  vegetable  life, 
its  mineral  and  inorganic  matter,  are  "  full  of  beau- 
tiful fitness,  giving  out  mute  laws  which  science 
expresses,  as  if  they  were  strophes  of  a  hymn  to 
God ; "  as  though  the  earth  and  all  things  u]3on  it 
were  worshipping  the  Father  Everlasting.  Tliey 
unitedly  show  that  this  world  was  created  specially 
for  man,  and  fitted  up  for  him  as  lord  of  the  earth, 
and  "  the  younger  brother  of  the  Incarnate  Word." 
Here  also,  as  in  God's  Word  and  greater  Works,  are 
many  mysteries,  doctrines  of  matter,  and  among  the 
greatest  of  them  is  the  mystery  of  man's  own  being. 

There  are  discernible  every  w^iere  on  earth  traces 


108        THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

of  tlie  same  Divine  wisdom  and  mystery  whicli  are 
seen  in  the  vast  whole  of  Creation,  in  Kevelation 
and  the  Incarnation.  Every  where  the  prints  of  the 
mind  of  the  One,  only  true  God,  are  discernible. 
All  things  on  earth,  viewed  in  detail,  whether  in 
the  invisible  operations  of  organized  life,  or  in  the 
fitness  of  physical  things,  manifest  the  wonderful 
wisdom  and  mechanism  of  the  Divine  Mind.  They 
are  in  perfect  harmony  with  all  that  we  know  of 
Him.  They  give  no  account  of  their  beginning  or 
history,  and  give  no  clue  by  which  to  discover  how 
long  they  are  to  last.  Although  all  these  things  and 
their  mode  of  reproduction  are  mysteries,  yet  they 
were  evidently  created  with  reference  to  the  devel- 
opment, happiness  and  progress  of  man.  The  lin- 
gering remnants  of  glorious  beauty  which  yet  are 
found  on  it,  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  that 
it  was  originally  created  for  beings  in  a  state  of 
grace. 

ISTo  cause  is  discoverable  in  reason  or  revelation 
why  the  earth  should  be  the  theatre  of  the  display 
of  any  more  Divine  wisdom,  goodness  or  power  than 
any  other  world.  This  gives  unmistakable  evi- 
dence, from  its  foundations,  that  it  was  created  to 
be  inhabited  ;  and  its  atmosphere,  light,  water  and 
general  productions,  show  that  it  was  created  spe- 
cially for  man. 

It  was  originally  in  a  burning,  and  then  in  a  fluid 
state,  and  brought  forth  millions  of  irrational  living 
creatures  out  of  itself,  whose  labor  or  remains  built 
up  its  surface,  and  prepared  the  way  for  "  cattle  and 
creeping  things,  and  beasts  of  the  earth  after  their 


THE  EAKTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       109 

kind;  that  tliey  miglit  be  serviceable  to  man  for 
food,  for  clotliing,  for  help  in  his  labors."  The  in- 
terior also  underwent  its  preparation  of  minerals 
and  ores,  and  then  at  God's  command  it  bronght 
forth  man  out  of  its  soil,  to  have  "  dominion  over 
the  iish  of  the  sea,  over  the  fowls  of  the  air.  and 
over  all  the  earth." 

The  course  of  creation  had  been  rnnning  for  vast 
indefinite  geological  periods  before  man  came  npon 
the  earth.  All  these  millions  of  ages  it  was  prepar- 
ing to  become  his  abode.  And  not  until  all  things 
were  fully  prepared  did  he  come  to  run  his  marvel- 
lous career. 

The  sea  has  often  changed  places  with  the  land, 
and  its  solid  foundations  have  been  rent  and  torn 
by  internal  convulsions  and  fires,  and  these  disturb- 
ances were  preparatory  not  only  to  the  formation  of 
the  dry  land  for  man  to  live  on,  but  also  to  the  clay 
out  of  which  he  was  to  be  formed.  Its  material  was 
thereby  annealed  and  fitted  to  be  wrought  into  in- 
telligent being,  capable  of  knowing,  serving  and 
loving  the  Creator.  The  way  the  land  and  water 
are  separated,  the  animals  and  plants  are  distributed, 
and  the  seasons  come  and  go,  indicate  great  wis- 
dom ;  and  they,  as  well  as  the  fruits,  plants,  and 
minerals,  show  that  the  wisdom  was  directed  with 
special  reference  of  making  a  commodious  abode  for 
man. 

Man  himself,  "  the  result  of  the  solemn  council 
of  the  most  Holy  Trinity,"  *  was  created  lord  of 

*  Gen.  i.  36. 


110        THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

the  earth,  and  adorned  with  supernatural  gifts  which 
the  Father  Everlasting  lavished  on  His  perfect  child. 
He  came  upon  the  earth  in  a  state  of  grace,  and  his 
home  was  filled  with  glorious  beauty  and  goodness 
by  its  spontaneous  productions  j)rovided  for  him. 
The  sublimity  of  his  intelligence,  and  his  unre- 
strained intercourse  with  his  Creator  warrant  the 
belief  that  no  other  such  man,  except  the  Son  of 
man,  who  came  down  from  heaven,  has  ever  lived. 
All  who  have  since  lived  mheritedhis  yaUe7inatu7'e. 

Adam  was  created  perfect,  and  with  capacity  to 
anderstand  all  God's  earthly  works.  He  had  intui- 
tive wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  some  of  his  origi- 
nal qualities  still  linger  amid  the  ruins  of  our  fallen 
nature ;  half  the  amount  of  human  knowledge  springs 
interiorly  from  the  soul.  The  evidence  of  this  is 
fairly  inferred  from  the  fact,  that  God  allowed  him 
to  give  names  to  all  things  on  earth,  and  also  in  the 
fitness  of  those  names,  many  of  which  remain  to 
this  day.  It  was  necessary  he  should  have  such 
knowledge  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  he  was 
created,  to  love  and  adore  his  Creator,  and  to  praise 
His  goodness,  wisdom  and  power.  The  deeper  his 
insight  into  the  mysteries  of  the  universe  the  greater 
would  be  his  reverence  and  adoration. 

He  came  out  from  the  hands  of  God  with  more 
knowledge  than  the  race  has  since  attained.  But, 
by  his  fall,  he  lost  the  presence,  and  afterwards,  by 
forgetfulness,  to  a  great  degree  his  original  knowl- 
edge of  God.  He  lived  with  Him  so  short  a  time, 
that  the  memory  of  it  probably  soon  became  like  a 
dream,  and  he  forgot  the  Lord  his  Maker.     Most  of 


THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 


Ill 


his  posterity  became  idolaters  and  fell  into  barbar- 
ism. Ever  since  man  has  been  searching  for  his 
lost  God,  groping  in  darkness  after  His  withdrawn 
presence.  Adam  knew  as  much  of  God  as  man  is 
capable  of  knowing  in  his  present  state.  And^  age 
after  age,  from  the  first  promise  of  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  God  has  been  gradually  giving  back  that 
lost  knowledge,  until  now,  under  the  Gospel,  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  conducting  man  to  that  eminent  con- 
dition from  which  his  great  progenitor  fell.  That 
man's  original  state  was  one  of  eminent  knowledge 
and  enlightenment  is  borne  out  by  the  Bible,  and 
by  the  fragments  of  the  history  of  the  primitive 
races  and  empires  which  survive.  Ignorance  and 
barbarism  are  the  result  of  a  loss  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God.  As  soon  as  Adam  sinned,  he  was 
driven  from  God's  presence  and  from  Paradise  ;  as 
soon  as  Cain  sinned  he  was  driven  to  the  outskirts 
of  primitive  civilization ;  and  in  every  age  since, 
individuals  and  nations,  as  they  have  forgotten  the 
worship  of  the  true  God,  have  declined  into  igno- 
rance and  barbarism. 

The  history  of  the  earth,  written  on  its  rocky 
foundations,  overwhelms  us  with  "  its  gigantic  pe- 
riods of  time,"  and  seems  to  carry  the  mind  back  to 
the  dawn  of  creation.  It  shows  that  it  has  gone 
through  extraordinary  changes,  all  having  reference 
to  man.  Along  the  whole  course  of  creation  he  the 
broken  fragments  and  scattered  remains  of  perished 
races  which  once  reigned  on  earth  and  occupied  it 
as  their  own.  Some  appalling  catastrophes,  one 
after  another,  suddenly  overwhelmed  them,  as  reve- 


112  THE   EARTH    AND   THE   HEAVENS.. 

lation  tells  us  another  is  destined  to  overtake  it  at 
the  end  of  man's  mortal  career. 

The  term  Paradise,  originally  given  to  man's 
abode,  may  have  been  because  his  planet  was  the 
garden  of  the  solar  system  to  which  it  belongs.  It 
is  probably  the  only  world  of  its  system  which  is 
occupied  by  intelligent  organized  beings  like  himself. 
There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  gleaned  from  science 
which  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  no  other  planet 
of  our  system  is  inhabited  by  intelligent  beings  like 
man.  The  other  planets  seem  to  be  in  all  those 
different  stages  through  which  the  earth  has  gone  ; 
the  Sun  and  Mercury  in  the  burning,  Jupiter  and 
Herschel  in  the  fluid,  and  so  on  with  others  in  the 
"  azoic,  or  protozoic,  or  pleozoic,  or  neozoic  "  stages? 
perhaps  preparing  to  become  man's  home  after  the 
judgment,  when  all  worlds  shall  constitute  parts  of 
the  kingdom  of  glory. 

As  j)aradise  was  the  central  point  where  the  hu- 
man race  began  its  career,  and  from  whence  it 
spread  over  all  the  earth,  so  may  this  planet  be  the 
point  where  the  race  was  to  be  produced  to  spread 
over  and  people  the  solar  system.  After  the  Resur- 
rection and  renovation  of  all  worlds  this  system  may 
be  the  home  of  man  for  ever.  When  the  partition 
wall  between  worlds  and  systems  is  thrown  down, 
and  the  universe  is  consolidated,  and  no  beings  but 
fallen  angels  and  men  are  confined  to  one  world, 
then  the  unbounded  universe  will  be  accessible  to 
all  good  spirits,  and  tlie  feeling  of  brotherhood  of 
all  the  sons  of  God  will  every  where  prevail.  It  is 
said  that  men  will  then  be  like  the  angels.     We 


THE   EAETH   AND   THE   HEAVENS.  113 

know  that  angels  pass  from  one  world  to  another 
with  almost  the  speed  of  thonght ;  then  all  worlds 
will  be  accessible  toman.  Our  Blessed  Lord  was 
the  first  fruits  of  the  Kesurrection  ;  He  could  rise  on 
the  air,  and  pass  from  this  world  to  Paradise  and 
Heaven ;  all  worlds  are  accessible  to  Him  ;  and 
having  his  life  in  us,  all  His  power  of  locomotion 
will  be  ours  ;  and  the  craving  of  the  human  soul  for 
activity,  and  motion,  and  sight-seeing,  will  be  grati- 
fied by  world-seeing. 

The  earth  is  the  world  of  the  Incarnation.  This 
must  be  its  distinguishing  characteristic  among  all 
intelligent  beings.  The  system  to  which  it  belongs 
may  be  known  hereafter  for  ever  as  the  system  of 
the  Incarnation.  To  this  man  may  be  consigned. 
It  may  now  be  going  through  those  changes  which, 
when  it  perishes  by  fire,  will  be  renewed,  as  man  is 
after  he  attains  his  maturity  and  dies,  and  become 
his  everlasting  home.  God's  visible  presence  will 
then  be  restored  to  this  world,  from  which  it  has 
been  withdrawn  in  consequence  of  sin,  and  men 
and  angels  will  no  longer  be  confined  to  particular 
worlds.  While  this  system  will  be  the  home  of  the 
human  race,  and  other  systems  the  home  of  angels 
and  archangels,  the  universe  will  be  a  glorious 
unity,  undisturbed  by  sin,  every  where  illumined 
by  the  Light  and  Presence  of  the  Ever  Blessed  Fa- 
ther Everlasting,  and  all  parts  accessible  to  all  the 
sons  of  God.  This  view  seems  to  be  amply  sus- 
tained by  facts  of  both  revelation  and  science. 

Science  teaches  that  the  planets  of  our  system 
are  similar  in  structure  to  the  earth,  but  they  differ 


114        THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

in  the  densities  of  their  globes  and  atmospheres. 
From  this  it  necessarily  follows  that  they  are  not 
inhabited  by  beings  like  man.  Man  forms  but  a 
minute  fraction  of  the  animal  life  of  his  world. 
;N"ot  only  the  sea  and  swamps,  the  mighty  forests 
and  rivers,  but  the  inhospitable  Northern  and 
Southern  Arctic  seas  and  shores  are  full  of  animal 
life. 

If  this  world  be  thus  pregnant  with  living  crea- 
tures, many  of  which  have  no  ascertained  useful 
relation  to  man,  but  appear  to  be  inherent  in  its 
nature,  and  draw  their  sustenance  and  hapj^iness 
from  its  substance,  then  it  is  probable  that  other 
parts  of  our  solar  system  abound  with  irrational  ani- 
mals which  God  has  created  for  their  happiness  and 
His  own  pleasure.  The  Bible  teaches  that  God 
created  all  worlds  to  be  inhabited,  and  His  power 
and  wisdom  are  as  clearly  seen  in  the  creation  of 
the  inferior  animals  as  in  man.  The  internal  evi- 
dence of  the  organized  living  beings  on  earth  indi- 
cates also  the  probability  that  there  are  no  other 
planets  inhabited  by  beings  like  man.  While  the 
animal  life  on  earth  is  almost  endlessly  diversified, 
the  anatomical  construction  of  every  living  creature 
is  framed  on  a  single  model,  so  that  together  they 
form  a  complete  system.  ISTow  this  unity  in  form 
and  unity  of  life,  being  drawn  from  the  mother 
earth,  indicate  that  they  are  a  sequence  of  a  local 
cause,  and  that  there  are  no  other  such  living  crea- 
tures in  any  other  world  of  our  system.  The  love 
of  variety  which  the  Creator  has  displayed  in  the 
detail  of  His  works  on  earth,  warrants  the  belief 


THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       115 

tliat  the  living  creatures  in  other  worlds  of  our  sys- 
tem would  not  be  constructed  on  the  same  plan  of 
physical  organization.  And  what  is  possibly  more 
to  the  point,  angels  who  have  been  seen  here  from 
other  systems  are  not  so  constructed. 

The  worlds  of  our  solar  system  are  so  many 
leaves  in  one  book  of  the  Creator's  works  ;  and  all 
the  analogies  of  creation  confirm  the  revelation,  that 
they  were  created  to  be  inhabited.  But  we  must 
probably  go  beyond  our  system  to  find  rational  be- 
ings. Analogy  and  science  compel  the  belief  that 
the  angels  belong  not  to  our  solar  system.  Man  and 
animals  partake  of  the  nature  of  the  earth  ;  all  the 
matter  of  our  system  is  homogeneous.  Angels  are 
not  material,  and  therefore  belong  not  to  this  sys- 
tem. Their  density  is  far  less  than  our  atmosphere ; 
they  can  pass  through  it  without  efi'ort,  buoyed  up 
and  sustained  by  it.  They  are  vastly  more  power- 
ful than  man,  and  have  destroyed  at  a  blow  whole 
armies  and  cities  of  men.  It  is  therefore  reasonable 
to  conclude  that  they  belong  to  a  system  superior  to 
our  own.  Our  Blessed  Saviour  said,  after  His  Ee- 
surrection,  when  in  His  Glorified  Body,  spirits  have 
not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  Me  have,  and  His 
words,  that  other  intelligent  beings  have  bodies  of 
different  material  from  man,  are  rendered  probable 
by  the  best  light  science  throws  on  the  subject. 

It  does  not  follow  that  other  systems  or  worlds 
are  now,  or  ever  have  been,  simultaneously  inhab- 
ited by  intelligent  beings.  The  analogies  of  our 
own  system  are  against  such  a  theory,  as  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  earth  is  the  only  world  of  our  system 


116        THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

now  SO  inliabitecl.  They  were  created  to  be  used 
for  this  purpose  some  time  in  the  vast  successions 
of  endless  ages.  The  earth  was  for  millions  of 
years  without  an  inhabitant,  nevertheless  it  was 
created  to  be  inhabited.  The  centuries  of  prepara- 
tion were  but  moments  in  the  calendar  and  progress 
of  eternity. 

Worlds  and  systems  may  lay  fallow,  like  the 
fields  of  earth,  before  and  after  they  have  borne 
crops  of  animated  life.  And  as  man  is  now  educat- 
iug  for  another  w^orld,  so  higher  orders  of  beings 
may  have  passed  through  similar  stages,  and  left  a 
lower  for  a  higher  world.  It  is  certain  that  those 
created  in  a  higher  world  have  been  displaced,  like 
the  fallen  angels,  and  sent  to  a  lower  one  because 
they  failed  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  created.  And  worlds  and  systems  now  inhab- 
ited by  lower  orders  of  animals  may  be  waiting 
their  turn  for  the  display  of  higher  creative  power. 
Successive  epochs  have  produced  different  races  of 
intelligent  beings. 

Indeed  the  earth  gives  many  signs  that  it  is  the 
ruin  of  an  older  world,  wliich  has  been  scorched  by 
fire  and  drenched  by  water.  The  interior  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  slowly  cooling  mass,  and  the  granite 
which  girdles  and  intrudes  through  its  surface  was 
once  fluid.  It  may  at  some  remote  period  have 
been  vastly  larger  than  at  present,  and  the  convul- 
sive throes  in  the  grand  catastrophes  of  its  primor- 
dial destructions,  for  there  may  have  been  more 
than  one,  may  have  given  off  some  of  the  strange 
shaped  asteroids  and  meteoric  masses  which    are 


THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       117 

revolving  within  its  orbit ;  and  some  fragments  of 
which  are  often  seen  rushing  through  our  air  with 
terrific  splendor  and  plunging  into  the  earth.  All 
these  may  have  been  parts  of  its  original  material ; 
they  certainly  contain  some  of  the  same  elements 
now  found  in  it. 

This  opinion  may  be  fanciful,  but  it  is  not  with- 
out advocates.  Another  writer  has  broached  a 
similar  one,  which  he  says  is  worthy  of  study.  "  Is 
it  improbable,  he  asks,  that  this  earth  was  the 
habitation  of  angels  in  a  long  prior,  and,  it  may  be, 
still  more  glorious  state?  May  it  not  be  that  the 
havoc  and  disorganization  which  geologists  discover 
as  occurrences  in  distant  ages,  are  the  wrecks  of  an 
angel  Paradise,  existing  long  prior  to  the  Garden 
of  Eden  and  the  creation  of  man  ?  *  .  .  .  .  The 
angels  committed  sin,  a  greater  sin  than  Adam  and 
Eve.  Who  knows  the  height,  and  depth,  and  extent 
to  which  this  sin  of  theirs  may  have  gone  ?  Who 
knows  what  havoc  it  may  have  brought  upon  crea- 
tion all  around  them,  how  high  toward  heaven  it 
may  have  reached,  how  deep  towards  earth's  centre 
it  may  have  shot  ?  " 

Science  demonstrates  that  the  planets  belonging 
to  our  system  are  material,  opaque,  more  or  less 
solid  bodies,  turning  on  their  axes,  and  having  an 
inclination  of  their  poles  to  the  ecliptic  ;  consequent- 
ly they  have  changing  seasons,  as  well  as  day  and 
night.  These  facts,  taken  in  connection  with 
another,  that  they  have  moons  like  the  earth,  seem 

*  Cummino-. 


118        THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

to  imply  that  they  were  designed  as  the  abodes  of 
organized  beings  with  senses  similar  to  the  animals 
on  our  own  planet.  Whether  they  have  been  occu- 
pied in  past  epochs  or  are  destined  to  be  so  by  our- 
selves in  future  times  is  known  only  to  God. 

If  the  theory,  that  a  higher  order  of  beings  once 
lived  on  the  earth,  prior  to,  or  coeval  with  some  of 
the  animals  whose  ruins  constitute  its  several  strata, 
be  untrue,  it  may,  nevertheless,  be  true,  that  other 
systems  have  had  successive  races  of  intelligent  be- 
ings, as  ours  certainly  has  had  of  inferior  ones. 
Here  it  is  plainly  seen,  that  one  great  form  of  life 
after  another  has  lived  and  died ;  and  that  each 
gradually  progressed  in  perfection  of  organization 
until  at  last  man  appeared.  From  the  best  light  to 
be  obtained  from  science,  it  is  highly  probable  that 
similar  changes  are  going  on  in  the  sun,  and  in 
every  planet  of  our  system,  which  the  earth  lias 
gone  through  in  the  past  vast  ages  of  its  geological 
formations. 

The  intervals  between  these  periods  and  races 
are  well  defined,  and  revelation  teaches  that  man  is 
here  to  prepare  for  another  world,  and  the  com- 
panionship of  higher  orders  of  beings.  And,  if 
the  earth  be  only  a  place  of  perfection  for  man,  so 
may  other  worlds  have  been  for  angels  and  higher 
orders  of  beings.  Systems  that  were  once  inhab- 
ited may  have  seen  the  end  of  their  inhabitants  and 
become  desolate ;  or  they  may  have  been  left  by 
migrations  of  their  inhabitants  to  other  worlds.  And 
one  race  of  spiritual  beings  may  have  prepared  one 
system  for  a  higher  order  of  spiritual  ones,  according 


THE  EAKTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       119 

to  that  Divine  law  wliicli  has  operated  so  certainly 
on  the  physical  races  on  earth.  There  are  also  de- 
scending scales,  because  the  angels,  once  in  heaven, 
have  been  cast  out,  and  are  destined  to  a  final  ever- 
lasting abode  in  hell. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  this  argument,  as  has  al- 
ready been  shown,  that  all  worlds  be  inhabited  at 
one  time,  or  that  some  of  them  ever  should  be  so. 
It  is  almost  certain  that  our  moon  is  destitute  of 
every  form  of  life.  Some  secondary  planets  may 
be  necessary  to  assist  primaries  in  fulfilling  their 
functions  to  their  inhabitants  as  the  moon  is  to  the 
earth.  Others  may  be  essential  to  the  economy  of 
the  systems  to  which  they  belong,  if  for  nothing 
more,  to  preserve  the  general  equillibrium.  They 
may  be  sterile,  desolate,  and  incapable  of  support- 
ing organized  life  ;  just  as  portions  of  the  earth  are 
incaj)able  of  sustaining  vegetable  or  animal  life. 
The  sandy  deserts  and  frozen  oceans,  the  barren 
mountains  and  depths  of  the  sea  are  of  this  nature  ; 
yet  they  are  as  necessary  to  the  earth's  perfection 
as  the  other  parts  ;  necessary  to  its  unity,  rotundity, 
and  connection^  and  to  make  it  an  entire  whole  ;  and 
the  water  facilitates  intercourse. 

This  opinion  of  the  inhabitancy  of  all  worlds  is 
confirmed  by  earthly  analogies.  The  water  con- 
tains animals  which  live  in  a  difi'erent  breathing 
medium  from  man,  and  cannot  live  in  the  air  of 
earth.  Some  animals  are  of  a  mixed  nature  and  live 
on  both  land  and  water.  Birds  are  nearly  interme- 
diate between  the  two.  It  is  also  reasonable  to  be- 
lieve, on  the  testimony  of  the  Bible,  that  these  laws 


120        THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

hold  with  respect  to  intelligent  moral  beings,  because 
good  and  bad  spirits  from  other  worlds  have  been 
seen  on  earth  with  natures  entirely  different  from 
man. 

THE   HEAVENS. 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  separate  the  heavens, 
whatever  our  ideas  of  them  may  be,  and  the  earth, 
and  hell,  and  paradise,  that  we  lose  sight  of  the 
sublime  truth  that  they  are  but  different  departments 
of  the  one  universe  of  God.  All  worlds  and  systems 
together  make  what  men  ordinarily  call  heaven ; 
that  is  the  world  subject  to  God.  Revelation  says, 
if  one  ascends  to  heaven  God  is  there,  if  to  Hell  He 
is  there,  if  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  He  is 
there  also.  It  is  but  the  Oriental  figurative  way  of 
saying  that  He  fills  His  own  universe. 

The  etymology  of  the  term  heavens  affords  no 
clue  to  its  particular  meaning,  not  even  as  to  their 
material  or  immateriality.  Anciently  their  inhab- 
itants visited  this  world,  but  in  modern  times  the 
only  visitant  we  have  from  any  other  world  is  the 
rays  of  sunlight,  and  these  are  mysterious  as  God 
Himself.  A  single  one  exhibits  a  threefold  combi- 
nation ;  and  "  when  analyzed  by  the  prism  consists 
of  seven  colors,"  exquisitely  blended,  and  each  pos- 
sessing a  degree  of  intensity,  splendor,  and  purity 
far  exceeding  the  colors  of  the  most  brilliant  natu- 
ral bodies  ;  and  "  these  colors  are  really  composed 
of  the  three  primitive  ones,  red,  yellow  and  blue." 
If  so  much  mystery  attaches  to  these  simple  mes- 


THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       121 

sengers  from  another  world  of  our  own  system, 
hopeless  indeed  would  be  any  attempt  to  form  con- 
jectures of  the  system  outside  of  our  own. 

The  heavens  are  said  to  have  been  originally 
created  in  a  plurality.  They  are  spoken  of  as  exist- 
ing in  degrees,  some  superior  to  or  higher  than 
others.  And  they  were  all  created  for  one  purpose, 
"  to  declare  the  glory  of  God,"  not  to  man  only,  but 
also  to  all  the  intelligent  beings  of  the  universe. 

With  all  our  boasted  modern  knowledge  we  are 
compelled  to  fall  back  on  ancient  traditions  of  our 
race  to  get  any  thing  like  a  satisfactory  notion  of 
the  term  heavens,  as  used  in  the  Bible.  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  a  "  third  heaven  "  as  a  thing  known  in 
his  day.  The  Bible  gives  no  account  of  it,  and  it 
may  have  been  a  primeval  tradition  which  he  men- 
tions. The  Plebrew  idea,  and  there  is  a  world  of 
depth  in  their  surviving  traditions,  was,  that  there 
are  three  heavens.  The  first,  the  air  which  sur- 
rounds our  globe,  where  the  winds  blow,  and  the 
birds  fly,  and  whence  storms  and  rains  come.  The 
second,  all  material  worlds  beside  the  earth,  some 
of  these  occupied  by  celestial  beings.  And  third, 
the  uncreated  Kingdom  of  Glory  where  God  was 
before  creation  began. 

God  says,  "  Heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the  earth 
my  footstool."  This  denotes  the  most  intimate  rela- 
tionship and  unity ;  that  both  are  parts  of  his  habi- 
tation, and  so  of  heaven.  From  the  poverty  of 
human  language  and  ideas,  and  from  the  necessity 
created  beings  have  to  make  distinctions,  as  we  do 
even  in  the  Godhead,  we  regard  these  as  parts  of 
6 


122        THE  EARTH  AlU)   THE  HEAVENS. 

different  things.  They  can  be  so,  liowever,  no  more 
than  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead  can  be  different 
beings.  The  term  heaven  in  its  general  sense,  as 
used  in  the  Bible,  probably  means  all  worlds  occu- 
pied by  sinless  beings.  The  earth  was  created  for 
man  in  a  state  of  grace,  and  it  is  the  only  known 
world  where  fallen  beings  are  on  probation  for  res- 
toration to  the  Divine  favor  ;  and  hell  is  the  prison 
world  where  all  intelligent  beings  are  to  be  confined 
who  have  sinned  beyond  reach  of  pardon.  These 
three  divisions  embrace  the  nniverse.  All  the 
heavens,  according  to  this  definition,  are  inhabited 
within  the  limitations  named  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  They  were  created  either  for  that  pur- 
pose, or  to  serve  the  interests  of  those  which  are 
inhabited. 

It  is  evident  the  earth  was  created  to  be  inhab- 
ited, because  it  has  been  occupied  by  multitudinous 
living  creatures  ever  since  it  rose  from  chaos,  and 
long  before  man  came  upon  it.  The  water,  air  and 
land  were  swarming  with  life  at  an  early  period  in 
the  earth's  history.  And  long  before  that,  heaven 
and  hell  had  innumerable  inhabitants.  The  Bible 
says,  that  "  Tophet  was  prepared  of  old,"  and  that, 
when  God  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  "  the 
morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of 
God  shouted  for  joy."  ^  And  no  sooner  was  man 
created  than  Satan  gained  an  entrance  into  this 
world. 

Christ  came  from  heaven,  and  He  says,  angels 

*  Job  xxxviii.,  7. 


THE  EAKTH  AXD  THE  HEAVENS.       123 

live  tliere  ;  that  tliey  are  in  legions  ;  and  the  devils 
speak  of  themselves  as  eqnally  numerous.  It  is  an 
impressive  truth  that  God  had  other  sons  before 
man ;  and  that  they  rejoiced  when  the  foundations 
of  a  new  world  were  laid,  which  was  to  be  the  hab- 
itation of  intelligent  beings,  their  brethren,  called 
by  the  same  name  of  sons  of  God,  and  born  to  the 
same  inheritance. 

"We  have  already  seen  that  the  chief  design  of 
the  Bible  is  to  make  known  to  man  only  things  per- 
taining to  himself ;  but,  that  in  teaching  that  he  is 
destined  to  a  future  life  and  worlds,  it  sheds  some 
light  on  other  beings  and  things  ;  and  that  it  is  from 
these  incidental  allusions  all  our  knowledge  con- 
cerning them  is  gleaned.  These  fringes  of  truth 
are  purposely  added  to  the  fabric  to  awaken  curiosity 
and  to  inspire  adoration. 

The  Bible  mentions  angels  and  archangels,  God's 
messengers  and  executive  officers  of  His  heavenly 
court;  spirits,  powerful  beings  without  flesh  and 
blood,  who  do  His  will ;  cherubim,  spiritual  crea- 
tures, with  mysterious  forms,  enjoying  the  fulness 
of  Divine  knowledge,  and  incessantly  worshipping 
before  the  eternal  throne  ;  and  seraphim,  spirits  of 
fire  and  light,  who  conveyed  inspiration  to  the 
prophets,  and  remissions  of  sin  to  men  under  the 
ancient  dispensation."^  Though  but  slight  allu- 
sions are  made  to  the  worlds  to  which  they  belong, 
yet  it  is  fairly  inferred  that  tlie  heavens  are  their 
home. 

*  Isa.  vi.,  6,  7. 


124        THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

The  frequent  reference  to  these  beings,  as  does 
also  the  whole  drift  of  revelation,  conveys  the  idea, 
that  other  systems  or  worlds  are  intimately  connected 
with  man  and  the  earth ;  that  they  exist  under  all 
the  conditions  of  order,  subjection  and  employment 
similar  to  tliose  of  the  earth.  Daniel  speaks  of 
"  the  army  of  heaven,"  and  Job  of  the  high  places 
of  God,  and  asks,  "  is  there  any  number  of  his  ar- 
mies ? "  And  St.  John,  in  his  Apocalyptic  vision 
of  the  Lamb,  saw  heaven  opened,  and  the  Word  of 
God  coming  out,  and  "  the  armies  which  were  in 
heaven  followed  Him  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in 
fine  linen,  wliite  and  clean."  Here  the  word  heaven 
is  singular,  and  armies  plural,  as  though  all  the  ar- 
mies of  the  whole  universe  were  included,  angels, 
and  spirits  and  men,  and  all  intelligent  beings,  who 
in  past  eternity  have  fought  with  or  for  God  for  the 
extirpation  of  moral  evil  from  His  dominions.  Ar- 
mies imply  kingdoms,  rulers,  subjects,  enemies  and 
worlds  for  their  habitations.  Perhaps  tlie  fields  of 
space  are  yet  to  be  battle-fields  as  worlds  have  been, 
where  the  enemy  of  God  and  his  legions  are  to 
have  their  last  contest  with  his  angels  and  saints. 
The  coming  forth  from  heaven  to  make  war  seems 
to  show  that  there  are  worlds  and  rebels  outside  to 
be  conquered. 

God  is  said  to  be  Possessor  (Gen.  xiv.,  9,)  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  ;  the  plural  form  of  heaven 
denotes  that  all  creation  is  included.  And  the  fact 
that  it  is  called  a  possession  proves  them  habitable 
worlds  like  the  earth,  and  not  mere  states  or  con- 
ditions. 


THE  EABTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.        125 

One  part  of  tlie  universe  is  the  dwelling  place 
of  the  Creator.  It  is  above  and  beyond  the  mate- 
rial systems.  Our  Blessed  Lord,  when  He  left  the 
earth,  "  ascended  far  above  all  heavens,"  saitli  St. 
Paul.  Yet  He  is  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God.  Job  says,  "  God  is  in  the  height  of  heaven." 
Solomon  prayed,  "  Hear,  Thou,  from  heaven  Thy 
dwelling  place."  The  Psalmist  says,  "  The  Lord's 
throne  is  in  His  Holy  Heaven."  And  Ecclesiasticus 
speaks  of  it  as  a  world.  The  prophets  believed  it  to 
be  a  distant  world,  the  residence  of  the  Creator,  and 
from  which  He  had  in  view  the  earth  and  the  uni- 
verse. St.  John  says,  it  is  the  abode  of  celestial 
beings,  w^ho  incessantly  worship  God.  Thus,  it  is 
seen,  that  the  design  of  God  in  peopling  other 
worlds  was  the  same  as  in  creating  man  on  the  earth. 
And  as  they  sang  and  rejoiced  when  man  was 
created,  they  had  a  prior  existence,  and  feel  an  in- 
terest in  him.  From  the  incidental  allusions  to  the 
different  kinds  of  beings  in  other  worlds,  and  the 
vastness  of  their  numbers,  and  this  apparently  with- 
out the  intention  of  especially  communicating  this 
knowledge,  it  may  be  reasonably  inferred  that  they 
are  all  inhabited. 

This  opinion  is  confirmed  by  our  Lord,  and  it 
bears  upon  all  the  views  expressed.  When  about 
to  return  to  heaven.  He  said  to  His  disciples,  that 
one  reason  for  going  was  "  to  prepare  places  "  for 
them.  It  would  take  several  worlds  to  accommo- 
date the  millions  wliich  have  been  born  on  earth. 
And  the  places  spoken  of  are  doubtless  worlds. 
Almost  two  thousand  years  have  since  elapsed,  and 


126        THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

this  proves  that  man's  future  home  is  receiving  its 
finishing  touch  from  the  Creator's  power,  by  the 
same  slow  processes  by  which  the  earth  was  pre- 
pared for  him.  The  world  for  those  who  are  not 
His  disciples  was  prepared  long  ago  ;  their  everlast- 
ing home  is  with  the  devil  and  his  angels.  (Matt. 
XXV.,  4.) 

Another  remarkable  fact,  which  seems  to  throw 
light  on  this  subject,  is,  that  where  heaven  is  men- 
tioned in  a  general  way  in  the  Bible,  the  plural 
form  is  used.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  it  exists 
in  a  plurality  of  worlds.  Solomon  speaking  of 
heaven  as  the  immediate  dwelling  place  of  God, 
uses  the  singular  number.  So  also  it  is  generally 
used  when  mentioning  the  firmament  or  sky  above 
the  earth.  So  far  as  my  own  examination  has  gone, 
this  seems  to  be  the  rule  of  the  Bible.  It  may  there- 
fore be  safely  said,  that  revelation  teaches  that  heaven 
is  a  plurality  of  worlds  or  systems.  Tliis  peculiarity 
exists  also  in  the  Greek  'New  Testament.  It  might 
be  regarded  as  an  Hebraism,  if  there  were  not  so 
much  method  in  its  use.  The  plural  is  the  common 
form  in  the  E'ew  Testament  when  the  abode  of  the 
blessed  is  named. 

It  is  a  reasonable  inference,  from  all  that  can  be 
learned  from  both  revelation  and  science,  that 
heaven  is  composed  of  many  worlds  ;  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  all  worlds  occupied  by  holy  beings  com- 
prise what  is  called  the  heavens  in  the  Bible. 
Moses  says  of  the  completion  of  creation,  "  Thus  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all  the 
Host  of  them." 


THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 


127 


Tliere  is  one  special  world  wliicli  is  the  abode 
of  the  Personal  Presence  of  the  Creator.     Prom  that 
He  overlooks  the  universe,  and  gives  orders  to  the 
spirits  which  execute  His  will  throughout  his  vast 
dominions.     This  opinion  is  older  than  Christianity, 
and  the  Greeks  borrow^ed  their  idea  of  Jupiter  and 
Olympus  from  it ;  and  was  certainly  the  belief  of 
Moses,  and  David,  and  Isaiah.     It  is  also  probable 
that  that  world  lies  in  the  part  of  the  universe,  hu- 
manly speaking,  above  the  northern  hemisphere  of 
the  earth ;  tliere  man  was  created,  and  it  has  been 
the  concurrent  opinion  of  the  race  in  all  ages.     To 
raise  the  eyes  or  hands  has  always  been  a  token  of 
reverence,  of  devotion,  and  address  to  God.     And 
the  opinion  can  be  accounted  for  only  on  the  ground 
that  revelation  so  represents  it.     In  that  direction 
the  pole  of  the  earth  ever  points,  while  travelling 
with  the  sun  on  to  that  invisible  point  to  which  it  is 
tending,  and  which,  doubtless,  is  the  home  of  the 
Father  Everlasting. 

The  scriptural  account  of  the  translations  of 
Enoch  and  Elijah  represent  them  as  ascending  from 
the  earth.  Tlie  angels  are  always  said  to  ascend  and 
descend,  never  to  go  to  and  from  the  earth.  Our 
Blessed  Lord,  speaking  of  His  departure  from  this 
world,  said,  "  What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of 
man  ascend  up  where  He  was  before?"  And 
when  He  did  go  away.  He  went  up  at  noon-day 
from  Bethany  through  the  opening  canopy.  He 
spoke  also  of  many  mansions  in  His  Father's  House, 
and  the  Greek  word  there  used  is  the  only  one  in 
the  language  approximating  to  our  Saxon  "  home. 


128        THE  EARTH  AND  THE  HEAVENS. 

If  the  universe  be  thus  represented,  then  are  all  its 
members  one  family^  and  all  the  mansions  are  in- 
habited, within  the  limitations  named  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters. 

This  doctrine  of  the  general  inhabitancy  of  all 
worlds  is  plainly,  thoug]i  only  incidentally,  taught  in 
the  Bible.  "When  it  speaks  of  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  it  is  to  make  known  Divine  truth  to  man. 
They  are  names  given  by  the  Creator  to  different 
parts  of  His  works ;  they  are  in  human  language, 
and  expressed  so  as  to  make  them  comprehensible 
to  human  minds.  Kevelation  teaches  that  all 
their  intelligent  inhabitants  are  sons  of  God,  and 
it  is  certain  that  many  of  these  widely  separated 
brethren  know  something  of  each  other.  Man 
knows  something  of  good  and  bad  angels,  and 
they  know  a  great  deal  about  him,  as  will  be  pre- 
sently shown. 

Tliere  is,  doubtless,  some  analogy  to  these  di- 
visions of  the  universe  in  those  of  the  earth.  The 
different  continents  are  parts  of  one  world,  as  the 
sun  and  its  satellites  form  one  system ;  so  all  the 
systems  form  a  connected  universe.  Earth  is  the 
name  given  by  God  to  this  one  world  of  His  heav- 
ens. This  world  is  as  much  under  God's  immediate 
governance  as  any  other.  He  says,  "By  Me 
kings  reign  ;"  that  "  the  gold  and  silver  are  Mine, 
and  I  give  them  to  whomsoever  I  will."  There  is 
not  a  battle  fought  nor  a  scourge  sent  but  it  is  work- 
ing out  some  great  principle  or  accomplishing  some 
great  object  in  the  economy  of  the  moral  world. 
He  says  also,  that  He  lifts  uj)  one  man  and  puts 
down  another ;  that  the  hairs  of  our  head  are  num- 


THE  EAETH  AND  THE  HEAVENS.       129 

bered ;  and  not  a  sparrow  falls  without  His  notice. 
Surely  He  cannot  reign  more  directly  over  any 
other  world. 

Though  from  the  poverty  of  human  thought  and 
speech,  and  the  narrowness  of  our  ideas,  we  asso- 
ciate with  the  term  heaven  only  that  part  of  the 
universe  where  there  is  no  sin  or  suffering,  yet  earth 
and  hell,  though  in  revolt,  belong  to  Him  as  much 
as  any  other  worlds.  An  American  who  violates 
the  laws  of  his  country,  and  is  imprisoned,  does  not 
thereby  forfeit  his  citizenship.  He  is  doing  his 
country  a  service  by  enduring  the  penalty ;  by  vin- 
dicating the  majesty  of  its  laws,  and  deterring 
others  from  crime,  as  well  as  j)reventing  further 
injury.  He  suffers  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  We 
might,  with  equal  propriety,  exclude  the  prison 
grounds  from  the  domain  of  the  several  states,  and 
their  inmates  from  citizenship,  as  to  sever  earth  or 
hell  from  heaven,  which  is  the  universal  empire  of 
the  Creator. 

This  opinion  is  fully  sustained  by  the  Bible.  It 
teaches  that  God  created  the  earth  for  sinless  be- 
ings ;  that  its  first  inhabitants  were  holy ;  that  they 
met  face  to  face,  and  talked  familiarly  with  their 
Creator.  This  relationship  was  as  intimate  as  that 
which  exists  between  God  and  the  highest  seraphs, 
and  as  God  was  visibly  and  personally  present 
then  on  earth,  it  was  as  much  a  part  of  heaven 
as  any  other  world.  The  sin  and  fall  would  not 
necessarily  destroy  the  connection,  though  it 
would  certainly  greatly  change  the  relationship 
in  which  it  stood  both  towards  the  Creator  and 
other  worlds.  6* 


ItSO  THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER. 


CHAPTER  YH. 


THE   TTNITT   OF   MATTER. 


By  matter  is  meant  all  the  substance  of  the  created 
universe  ;  that  which  God  created  when  He  formed 
the  heavens  and  the  earth.  It  is  as  much  a  revela- 
tion from  God  as  mind  or  His  written  Word.  It  is 
the  printed  book,  worlds  are  its  leaves,  by  which  He 
teaches  all  the  intelligent  creatures  of  the  universe. 
Next  to  God  it  is  the  sublimest  mystery  in  the  uni- 
verse. God  is  the  Great  Mystery  of  invisible  be- 
ing, and  He  lives  in  all  worlds ;  matter  is  the  great 
visible  mystery  which  composes  all  worlds.  Some 
theories  make  it  to  "  consist,  not  of  solid  particles, 
but  of  mathematical  centres  of  forces." 

Whatever  it  may  be,  it  is  "  full  to  overflowing  " 
with  God  and  Divine  mysteries.  It  is  the  substance 
"  on  which  God  has  printed  His  thoughts :  may 
it  not  be  the  book  which  all  minds  are  to  read  and 
learn  from  ?  We  know  that  He  has  made  the  ele- 
vation of  human  nature  to  depend  on  the  study  and 
application  of  principles  impressed   upon   matter, 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  131 

and  therefore  it  is  consistent  with  His  purposes,  and 
with  His  Greatness,  to  educate  intelligences  by 
means  of  it.  We  know  not  that  there  are  any,  or 
can  be  any,  trained  up  without  it ;  and  as,  wherever 
intelligences  are,  they  are  surrounded  by  it,  and  by 
displays  of  Divine  wisdom  shining  forth  into  it,  is 
it  not  reasonable  to  infer  that  it  is  a  universal  me- 
dium of  mental  and  moral  tuition?  For  which 
purpose,  instead  of  being  collected  into  one  inhabit- 
able body,  it  has  been  gathered  (dispersed)  into  an 
infinite  number,  every  one  different,  and  a  theatre 
of  different  phenomena."  * 

The  earth  is  the  means  of  the  development  of 
the  intellectual  life  of  man.  God  created  Adam  out 
of  its  material.  His  body  is  a  combination  of  a 
great  variety  of  its  constituents.  God  breathed  life 
into  him,  and  by  means  of  his  physical  organization 
his  intellect  developed. 

It  is  yet  so  with  every  child.  External  nature 
is  the  teacher  of  the  human  mind.  The  child  begins 
to  learn  by  seeing,  touching,  and  tasting.  He  eats 
and  grows  in  the  unconscious  "  arms  of  time  ;  "  he 
increases  in  intellectual  strength,  until  he  is  able 
to  understand  spiritual  things,  and  to  reflect  upon 
moral  and  spiritual  truth.  He  would  have  had  no 
soul  but  for  the  external  body  ;  and  without  a  body 
the  powers  of  our  Blessed  Lord  would  not  have 
manifested  themselves. 

We  speak  of  matter  as  substance  capable  of  di- 
visibility and  extension ;  but,  when  we  investigate 

*  Ewbank. 


132  THE    TNITY    OF   MATTER. 

its  properties,  we  really  know  no  more  of  it  than 
of  mind.  Its  origin  and  nature  are  botli  beyond 
the  reach  of  om*  faculties.  "  The  ultimate  concep- 
tion of  matter  itself  runs  into  force,  and  so  matter 
too  is  but  a  thought  of  mind."  A  visible  entire 
thought  of  God,  the  agent  of  all  thought,  and  every 
where  pervaded  by  "  the  infinity  of  mind  ;  "  and 
"  man,  like  his  Creator,  makes  matter  not  only  the 
recipient  of  his  thoughts,  but  sends  it  forth  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  circulate  them.  It  is  the  imiversal 
teacher  and  preacher  .  .  .  silently  exhibits  its 
doctrines,  .  .  .  and  all  its  manifestations,  from 
a  snow  drop  to  a  world,  exclaim,  '  the  hand  that 
made  us  is  Divine.'  " 

Gravitation  and  polarity,  the  laws  of  force  and 
inertia,  are  universal ;  and  they  are  the  great  doc- 
trinal mysteries  of  this  revelation,  corresponding  to 
the  revealed  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  Incarna- 
tion. They  teach  of  God  Himself,  and  the  study 
of  them  widens  our  ideas  of  Him.  They  are  rays 
of  light  let  down  from  God,  the  central  light  of  the 
universe. 

All  the  elementary  matter  of  the  universe  was 
probably  of  simultaneous  creation ;  because  it 
seems  to  be  governed  by  one  law  of  revolution  on 
its  axis ;  obeys  one  law  of  inclination  of  its  poles 
to  their  ecliptics  ;  and  is  alike  capable  of  divisibility 
and  extension.  In  the  ISTew  Testament  it  is  said, 
the  system  of  worlds,  tou?  alcova^,  were  framed  to- 
gether by  the  Word  of  God.  It  means  more  than 
worlds,  because  K6a-iJio<;  is  the  proper  term  for  world. 
Our  Blessed  Lord  in  speaking  of  the  earth  calls  it 


THE   UNITY   OF    MATTER.  133 

rov  Koafjbov.^  But  tliese  systems  were  joined  by  the 
reciprocal  forces  of  attraction  and  repulsion,  as  parts 
of  a  sublime  whole.  Before  a  building  is  raised  its 
frame  is  planned  and  prepared,  and  the  several 
parts  adjusted;  and  this  phraseology  implies  that 
all  worlds  are  parts  of  a  grand  whole,  "  fitly  framed 
together,"  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  several  parts 
of  a  building.  "  In  gravitation,  we  see  nature  at 
once  keeping  herself  in  motion,  and  at  the  same 
time  tending  to  repose.  It  is  as  if  the  huge  ribs, 
and  beams,  and  frame-work  of  Omnipotence  were 
being  laid  before  us.  It  is  as  though  we  saw  it  new, 
tremulous,  and  vibrating  with  the  last  touch  of  the 
Creative  hand  hardly  yet  lifted  off  from  it.  While 
polarity,  that  mysterious  secret,  teaching  tha'c  like 
repels  like,  and  unlike  attracts  uulike,  represents  to 
us  'opjDOsite  elements  rushing  together,  opposite 
motions  reducing  each  other  to  rest,'  God's  huge 
creation  laboring  in  every  particle,  like  a  vessel  at 
sea,  finding  concord  in  discord,  reaching  imity  by 
opposition,  and  so,  mighty  complex  onward  uni- 
verse !  entering  into  her  rest ; "  f  accomplishing 
the  will  of  its  Creator,  obediently  fulfilling  the  des- 
tiny He  marked  out  for  it. 

The  presumption  from  Scripture,  of  the  unity 
of  all  the  matter  of  the  universe,  is  confirmed  by  the 
actual  material  testimony  of  science.  Besides  the 
great  general  laws  already  mentioned,  which  bind 
the  remotest  fixed  star  in  its  undiscoverable  path- 
way around  its  unknown  centre,  into  unity  with  the 

*  John  iii.,  16.  t  Faber. 


134  THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER. 

earth,  and  the  system  to  Avhich  it  belongs,  it  is 
known  that  some  of  the  elementary  matter  of  other 
worlds  is  the  same  as  the  earth's. 

"Every  one  knows,"  says  Mr.  Ewbank,  "  cosmical 
masses  of  iron  are  rej^eatedly  caught  on  the  earth's 
surface,  as  she  whirls  onward  through  space." 
Mckel,  copper,  tin,  cobalt,  and  magnesia  abound 
in  other  worlds  besides  our  own  ;  and  two  of  these 
metals  possess  the  mysterious  proj)erty  of  magnet- 
ism, which  belongs  to  them  on  earth  ;  some  of  the 
precious  stones  and  metals  are  mentioned  as  be- 
longing to  heaven,  in  such  a  way  as  scarcely  to 
allow  one  to  regard  them  as  figurative  ;  and  the 
water  and  light  of  heaven  are  constantly  spoken  of. 

These  metals  are  said  to  be  pure  there ;  and  the 
water  and  the  light,  the  one  being  pure  and  the 
other  unmingled  with  darkness,  are  superior  to  the 
earthly  elements,  and  confirm  the  Scripture,  that 
man  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  ;  and 
his  world  is  probably  inferior  to  theirs  in  the  com- 
binations of  its  elementary  material.  On  earth  all 
the  metals  are  found  mixed  up  with  coarser  matter, 
and  have  to  be  smelted  and  wrouglit  out  with  great 
labor. 

If  they  are  pure  in  other  worlds  it  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  bearing  on  this  question  of  imity,  because 
if  it  indicates  any  thing,  it  is  that  the  precious  ma- 
terial by  which  art,  and  science,  and  civilization, 
are  advanced  on  earth,  may  have  the  same  relation 
to  the  progress  of  higher  orders  that  it  has  of  man. 

"  Of  the  functions  assigned  to  meteoric  couriers 
one  surely  is  to  inform  those  upon  whose  territories 


THE    UNITY    OF    MATTER.  135 

tliey  alight,  that  a  community  of  staple  occupations 
unites  them  to  the  occupants  of  other  planets,  if 
not  of  other  systems  ;  and  to  prove  this,  they  bring 
specimens  of  the  staple  material  with  them.  In  the 
sample  left  with  us,  iron  vastly  abounds  ;  an  intima- 
tion that  it  plays  as  important  parts  in  other  orbs  as 
it  plays  on  this.  Strange  that  information  of  such 
intense  interest,  and  so  wonderfully  brought  home 
to  us,  is  not  more  dwelt  on.  But  many  are  afraid, 
and  others  ashamed,  to  accept  a  theory  which  makes 
it  the  business  of  the  people  in  the  stars  to  multiply 
their  comforts  and  conveniences  somewhat  as  we 
do,  i.  e.,  to  work  in  the  same  material  in  wdiich  God 
works."  The  writer  says,  that  the  meteoric  iron  is 
always  found  in  a  pure  state  ;  the  reverse  of  this  is 
believed  to  be  the  fact,  yet  the  paragraph  contains 
thoughts  worthy  of  consideration,  and  bearing  on 
the  points  under  discussion. 

It  is  probable  that  the  different  beginnings  men- 
tioned in  a  preceding  chapter  had  relation  to  sys- 
tems as  well  as  worlds  ;  and  were  similar  to  those 
which  occurred  on  earth  before  the  creation  of 
man.  The  earth  has  certainly  been  more  fluid  than 
now,  and  possibly  vastly  larger,  even  the  abode 
of  beings  superior  to  man.  If  so,  they  were  spirit- 
ual, and  left  no  fossil  remains.  There  are  old  ante- 
diluvian traditions,  sacred  and  profane,  which  seem 
to  refer  to  such  a  fact.  They  may  have  fallen  as 
man  did,  and  have  been  expelled  from  this  world 
as  the  angels  were  from  heaven,  and  we  may  be 
living  on  the  ruin  of  their  world.  The  eighteenth 
Psalm  depicts  a  display  of  the  wrath  of  God  to- 


136  THE    UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

wards  the  earth  in  such  a  manner  as  surely  has  not 
been  known  since  man  was  created.  It  speaks  of 
a  ruin  so  dire  as  to  reach  to  its  very  foundations. 

Matter  has  always  been  a  great  puzzle  to  man. 
It  is  by  its  nature  inert,  nevertheless  its  powers  are 
mighty,  and  emanate  from  the  principle  of  force 
and  movement,  the  secret  of  which  is  unknown  to 
him.  Cuvier  speaking  of  certain  fluids,  says,  "  We 
cannot  yet  decide  w^hether  these  agents  are  really 
material." 

The  Greeks,  Eomans,  and  earlier  Pagan  Orien- 
tals believed  matter  to  be  eternal.  The  human  mind 
is  so  constituted  that  it  must  have  something  eternal 
to  rest  on ;  and  it  is  probable  the  ancient  philoso- 
phers were  anxious  to  prove  matter  eternal,  because 
they  had  no  correct  idea  of  the  true  God,  the  great 
first  cause  of  all  things.  It  was  not  then  ripe 
enough  to  cope  with  spiritual  truth  as  it  now  does ; 
nor  had  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Truth  been  given  to  the 
world,  nor  an  Apostle  written,  "  there  is  a  natural 
body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body."  But,  with  the 
revelation  of  the  Gospel,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
understanding  these  things  ;  and  none  in  believing 
that  myriads  of  spiritual  beings  and  worlds  may 
have  existed  millions  of  ages  back  in  the  cycle  of 
past  eternity.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  "  third 
heavens  "  as  though  it  were  the  abode  of  spiritual 
beings  ;  and  that  the  things  he  saw  there  were  un- 
lawful or  impossible  to  be  communicated  to  man. 

The  book  of  Genesis  by  Moses,  and  the  Gospel 
by  John,  both  commence  with  the  same  declaration, 
that  in  the  beginning  God  created  all  things.     In 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  137 

the  Septuagint  the  initial  words  of  Genesis  and 
John  are  the  same.  Hesiod  states  the  same  thing, 
not  nsing  the  same  word,  thongh  he  wrote  nearly  a 
tliousand  years  before  the  Septuagint  was  made  ;  it 
is  probable  he  had  seen  or  heard  of  the  Book  of 
Genesis.  St.  Panl  explains  St.  John's  words,  that 
all  things  were  created  by  the  Word,  saying,  that 
He  who  was  the  Word  became  Jesus  the  Saviour 
of  the  World ;  and  that  He  created  all  things  for 
Himself.  His  words  are,  "  By  whom  were  all 
things  created  that  are  in  the  heavens,  and  that  are 
in  the  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be 
thrones,  or  dominions  (the  domain  of  worlds  or 
systems  of  worlds),  or  principalities,  or  powers,  all 
things  were  created  By  Him  and  For  Himr 

When  the  Bible  speaks  of  the  earth  as  about  to 
be  prepared  for  man's  creation,  it  says  it  was  "  with- 
out form  and  void."  This  looks  as  though  it  were 
a  ruin.  God  creates  nothing  imperfect.  However 
this  may  be,  if  it  were  the  first  time  in  the  course 
of  creation  that  it  was  to  be  inhabited  by  intelligent 
beings,  the  earth's  turn  came  to  be  the  theatre  of  a 
new  display  of  Divine  power.  At  one  of  the  begin- 
nings named  in  Genesis,  when  it  was  ready  for  man, 
God  created  him  out  of  its  material  to  be  its  ruler. 
It  is  a  reasonable  inference  that  this  is  the  way  the 
inhabitants  of  other  systems  were  formed,  each  one 
out  of  the  matter  of  its  own  world,  and  so  fitted  for 
its  peculiar  condition.  Man  is  made  out  of  the  ma- 
terial of  his  world,  and  afterwards  feeds  and  lives 
upon  it.  This  probability  is  strengthened  by  the 
fact,  that  the  beings  of  other  worlds  who  have  been 


138  THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER. 

seen  on  earth,  are  unlike  man  in  both  the  combina- 
tions of  their  material  and  density. 

There  is  a  marvellous  relation  between  God  and 
matter.  Ancient  Pagan  philosophers  believed  they 
existed  as  soul  and  body ;  and  modern  infidels  have 
tried  to  revive  the  belief.  But  revelation  teaches  a 
sublime  doctrine,  more  consonant  to  reason,  and 
worthy  of  adoration.  It  is,  that  God  and  matter 
may  unite  and  make  it  eternal ;  that  it  did  so  in 
Adam,  and  afterwards  in  a  higher  form  in  its  hypos- 
tatic union  with  His  own  Son,  who  is  the  type  and 
head  of  a  race  of  new  beings. 

One  of  the  earliest  results  of  the  order  of  things 
now  existing  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  was  the 
formation  of  man.  God  made  him  of  matter,  in  his 
own  image,  breathed  the  breath  of  His  own  life 
into  him,  and  gave  him  the  sui^remacy  over  all  its 
inferior  creatures.  The  union  is  lost  for  a  time  at 
death,  in  consequence  of  the  fall,  but  it  will  be  re- 
sumed at  the  Resurrection  and  remain  for  ever. 

The  change  our  Lord's  mortal  body  underwent, 
without  corruption,  in  the  grave,  is  one  all  must  go 
through  to  attain  perfection.  The  natural  world 
abounds  with  similar  examples.  Seeds  die  to  produce 
new  and  higher  forms  of  life.  The  change  involves 
no  loss,  but  wonderful  gain.  Worms  die  and  change 
to  flies,  yet  they  take  through  the  death  and  change 
their  entire  individuality  and  identity.  The  stony 
dwelling  of  the  coral  insect  is  but  the  lime  and 
other  substances  it  sucks  into  itself  from  its  solution 
in  the  water.  Water  turns  to  vapor,  and  vapor  to 
clouds,   to   be   returned    again   to  water.      Wood 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  139 

changes  to  smoke,  and  smoke  to  water,  to  return 
again  to  wood.  Oxygen  helped  to  form  the  granite, 
and  granite  disintegrates  to  soil,  to  grow  the  plants 
which  return  it  again  to  oxygen,  in  the  ceaseless 
changings  of  all  corroding  time. 

And  they  seem  like  the  sportive  gambols  of  the 
elements,  the  children  of  nature  toying  with  one 
another.  But  the  original  elements  remain  the 
same.  These  little  changes  constantly  going  on  on 
earth,  are  doubtless  types  of  grander  ones  which  the 
whole  fabric  of  the  earth  has  undergone,  and  of  an 
infinite  series  of  yet  more  sublime  ones  taking  place 
in  the  vast  systems  of  the  universe  of  matter. 

It  has  been  shown,  that  the  Scriptures  teach  that 
the  original  creation  produced  all  things  visible  and 
invisihle. 

This  evidently  refers  to  worlds  rather  than  be- 
ings ;  because  man  was  created  after  the  angels,  and 
ancient  inhabitants  of  heavens.  Doubtless  there 
are  worlds  invisible  to  us  by  their  remoteness  as 
well  as  subtilty.  Matter  under  several  forms  is  in- 
visible to  the  human  senses.  "  All  the  elements 
are  invisible."  They  are  invisible  when  several  are 
united,  as  in  the  air.  Electricity  and  steam  are 
both  directly  invisible,  yet  they  have  mighty  power  ; 
and  beings  Ibrmed  like  man,  and  clothed  with  tre- 
mendous energy,  might  be  all  around  us  and  yet 
invisible.  A.n  eminent  French  philosopher  says, 
'•  We  believe  that  matter,  being  inert  in  its  nature, 
its  agents  are  truly  spiritual,  and  emanate  from  the 
principle  of  force  and  movement,  diversely  modified 
by  the  Word." 


140  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

IS^ow,  if  air  and  steam,  which  are  composed  of 
the  same  elements  as  earth  and  solid  rocks,  only  dif- 
ferently combined,  and  electricity,  are  invisible,  and 
their  simple  elements  are  invisible,  then  there 
shonld  be  no  difficnlty  in  believing  that  there  are 
worlds  and  systems,  and  material  living  beings 
formed  of  the  same  elements  as  the  earth,  which  are 
invisible.  Althongh  they  are  now  invisible  and 
imperceptible  to  onr  earthly  organization,  they  may 
not  be  so  to  angels  and  spirits,  and  they  may  not  be 
to  ourselves  when  we  are  separated  from  the  flesh. 

Indeed,  it  would  seem  from  modern  scientific 
research,  that  what  man  calls  material  is  less  real 
and  less  powerful  than  the  immaterial.  Air  and 
electricity,  heat  and  light,  magnetism  and  actinism, 
the  great  powers  of  nature,  are  invisible  and  mostly 
imponderable.  The  air  presses  the  earth  on  all  sides 
with  the  prodigious  force  of  twenty  tons  upon  every 
part  of  the  surface  of  the  size  of  a  man's  body,  and, 
when  in  motion,  overthrows  his  strongest  works. 
Intelligent  beings  composed  of  these  invisible  pow- 
erful agents,  would  surpass  all  human  ideas  of 
strength,  and  fly  with  electrical  speed.  Even  ma- 
terial bodies  would  present  no  obstacle  to  them. 
The  Bible  teaches  that  there  are  such  beings  ;  the 
lowest  of  them  next  above  man  in  the  scale  of  crea- 
tion ;  but  they  are  said  to  excel  in  power,  and  go 
and  come  on  our  atmosphere  As  there  are  such 
beings,  so  also  is  it  probable  that  there  are  worlds 
composed  of  the  same  material. 

This  fact  strengthens  the  opinion  before  advanced, 
that  the  earth  may  have  been  inhabited  by  a  more 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  141 

powerful  race  before  man  ;  and  the  fossil  remains  of 
gigantic  antediluvian  animals,  yet  found  in  its  rocks 
and  soil,  may  have  been  creatures  which  served  in 
the  economy  of  that  ancient  dispensation.  They 
were  perhaps  the  useful  subjects  of  that  more  pow- 
erful race,  and  because  themselves  more  powerful, 
were  without  what  man  calls  a  material  organiza- 
tion, and  so  left  no  relics  of  themselves  hehind. 

There  is,  then,  the  highest  probability,  from  all 
that  we  do  know  of  the  marvellous  unity  and  har- 
mony of  the  parts  of  the  universe  within  reach  of 
our  observation  and  analysis,  that  all  matter  was 
not  only  created  at  one  time,  but  also,  that  its 
elements  are  the  same  in  all  worlds.  ^Nor  need  this 
necessarily  conflict  with  the  doctrine  of  successive 
creation,  from  diiferent  combinations  of  the  original 
elements.  Such  creations  are  incessantly  going  on. 
The  ethereal  worlds  may  have  been  first  formed  from 
gaseous  elements,  and  served  God's  purposes  mil- 
lions of  ages  ;  and  there  may  have  been  a  gradual 
o-rowth  of  those  elements  into  what  man  calls  form, 
substance,  and  visibility,  to  prepare  it  and  its  in- 
habitants for  the  marvel  which  was  finally  to  be 
accomplished  by  its  means  in  the  Incarnation  of  the 
Son  of  God. 

God's  own  history  of  the  earth,  graven  and  em- 
bossed on  its  rocky  foundations,  confirms  the  truth 
of  this  written  history.  It  proves  that  there  were 
successive  reigns  of  animal  life  long  before  the  time 
when  His  Spirit  moved  on  the  formless  and  void 
mass  to  prepare  it  for  man. 

The  reign  of  silence  and  death,  then  existing, 


142  THE    UNITY   OF   MATTER. 

long  before  had  teemed  witli  animals  of  what  we 
call  lower  forms  of  life,  fish,  and  reptiles.  To  these 
succeeded  the  mammiferous,  and  lastly  came  man, 
a  mixed  being,  partaking  of  two  natures ;  one,  of 
the  animal,  the  class  to  which  he  belonged  by  cre- 
ation ;  the  other,  of  spirit,  which  was  the  nature  of 
his  Creator.  This  is  the  highest  form  of  material 
creation  the  human  mind  can  imagine.  All  creation 
gradually  rising  np  to  man,  and  man  nnited  to  God. 

This  is  a  point  of  material  elevation  which  it  is 
reasonable  to  believe  cannot  be  surpassed ;  since 
they  meet  in  a  union  which  is  never  to  terminate, 
and  in  God  who  is  eternal.  The  infinite  in  height 
is  joined  to  the  eternal  in  duration :  "  creation  and 
the  creature  meet  in  one  person,"  ^  and  God  is  all 
in  all. 

Yet  revelation  reaches  further  than  reason.  It 
teaches  not  only,  that  it  is  possible  for  God  to  create 
a  higher  form  of  being,  but  that  He  has  done  so  in 
the  person  of  His  Eternal  Son,  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  born  of  tlie  Virgin  Mary. 

It  teaches  also,  that  this  mixed  state  of  man  is 
not  his  final  one ;  that  the  material  of  his  body  is 
destined  to  be  ]*efined ;  that  he  will  go  through 
another  change,  at  the  Resurrection,  when  his  ma- 
terial part  will  receive  one  more  touch  from  the 
creative  Word,  and  be  changed  into  an  immortal 
body  with  the  very  Life  of  God. 

Matter  will  then  have  run  through  the  great 
cycle  of  life,  and  have  returned  to  God,  whence  it 
emanated.     There  the  mystery  will   end  ;    end   to 

*  For  this  and  preceding  thoughts,  obligations  are  due  to  Hugh 
Miller. 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  143 

man  because  he  will  tlieii "  see  as  lie  is  seen,  and 
know  as  he  is  known." 

It  cannot  now  be  fathomed  by  created  beings  ; 
bnt  is  partially  revealed  to  foreshadow  the  Father's 
great  love  for  the  sons  of  men,  and  the  eternal 
weight  of  glory  He  has  prepared  for  those  who  do 
their  duty  to  Him  in  this  present  life.  It  is  revealed 
to  encourage  us  to  be  obedient  to  His  laws,  and  to 
love  and  serve  Him  as  our  wise  and  wonderful,  our 
liberal  and  loving  Father  and  God.  Divine  benev- 
olence has  so  contrived  the  mechanism  of  the  phys- 
ical as  well  as  moral  world  to  make  it  manifest  His 
power  and  goodness;  and  to  show,  that  He  earn- 
estly desires  every  creature  He  has  made  to  share 
His  happiness. 

Observation  confirms  the  theory,  that  all  matter 
was  created  at  one  time.  Neither  ancient  nor 
modern  research,  with  all  the  recent  improvement 
in  instruments,  aiford  any  ground  to  believe  that 
new  matter  is  in  the  process  of  creation  any  where 
in  the  universe :  that  is,  is  being  formed  as  at  the 
beginning  from  nothing. 

The  probability,  that  all  solid  matter  has  been 
gradually  formed  from  subtler  elements  is  fully  sus- 
tained by  science.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  the 
interior  of  the  earth  is  now  fluid.  Its  whole  super- 
structure, above  the  solid  foundations,  is  a  deposit 
from  a  once  surrounding  fluid.  And  this  mys- 
terious process  of  changing  the  fluids  of  the  earth, 
its  rivers,  lakes,  and  oceans,  into  solid  rock,  is  now 
going  on  over  all  its  surface.  And  the  time  will 
come  in  the  process  of  ages,  if  the  present  state  of 


144  THE    UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

tilings  continues,  when  there  will  be  no  more  sea.  The 
insects  will  have  converted  all  its  waters  into  stone. 

Our  Lord  said  to  His  disciples,  wdien  about  to 
return  to  heaven,  that  He  was  going  awaj  to  pre- 
pare a  place,  tottov,  for  them.  And  His  words  har- 
monize with,  if  thej  do  not  fully  teach  the  doctrine 
of  a  plurality  of  worlds  or  systems  in  such  a  unity 
as  has  been  described.  He  says,  in  my  Father's 
house,  iv  TTj  olfcia^  which  can  mean  no  less  than  the 
whole  universe,  the  one  Great  Home  of  the  Father 
Everlasting,  of  things  visible  and  invisible,  there  are 
many  habitations,  fioval  TroXkal,  tarrying  or  dwell- 
ing-places. This  is  not  iigurative  language,  and  can 
mean  nothing  less  than  systems  of  worlds,  if  w^e 
consider  the  context;  since  it  would  take  many 
worlds  like  the  earth  to  comfortably  accommodate 
the  people  of  God  who  have  been  born  here.  He 
had  before  told  them  that  the  future  abodes  of  the 
righteous  would  be  eternal ;  and  that  they  should 
dwell  with  Him  for  ever. 

For  eighteen  hundred  years  certainly  the  slow  pro- 
cess has  been  going  on  by  which  some  other  system, 
or  possibly  other  parts  of  our  own,  have  been  pre- 
paring to  become  the  eternal  home  of  spiritualized 
and  glorified  humanity,  adapting  it  to  that  new  form 
of  life  which  man  will  receive  at  the  resurrection. 

Whatever  it  is,  and  w^herever  it  may  be,  it  is  a 
part  of  heaven.  Heaven  was  in  existence  before 
man  was  created,  and  heaven  is  to  be  man's  final 
home ;  thus  logically,  on  the  authority  of  our  Sa- 
viour's own  words,  He  is  now  employed  in  enlarg- 
ing heaven. 


I 


THE    UNITY    OF    MATTEK.  14:5 

If  this  interpretation  of  our  Lord's  words  be 
true,  and  it  is  the  simple  and  natural  one,  it  shows 
not  only  that  there  is  a  unity  of  matter,  but  also  of 
operation ;  because  this  new  place  is  preparing  for 
man  by  the  same  gradual  processes  by  which  his 
present  habitation  was  prepared. 

Marvellous  changes  are  continually  going  on  in 
matter  on  the  earth,  and  none  more  wonderful  than 
that  which  takes  place  in  man's  own  body.  It  dies, 
but  does  not  perish.  It  decays,  but  will  be  restored 
again,  as  our  Lord's  revived.  And  it  will  be  as 
different  from  the  original  matter  as  a  whole  golden 
ear  of  corn  or  wheatsheaf  is  different  from  the  single 
kernel  which  rotted  to  produce  it. 

The  old  and  new  body  will  be  of  the  same 
elements,  differently  combined ;  Jesus  said,  "  He 
that  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die  ; "  and  they 
will  be  mentally  united  by  the  same  spirit.  Man 
can  never  be  other  than  a  created  being.  When 
St.  Paul  speaks  of  a  natural  body  and  a  spiritual 
body  he  is  speaking  of  created  and  therefore  of  ma- 
terial ones.  The  whole  man  will  be  as  much  supe- 
rior to  his  former  self,  as  liglit  and'  electricity  are 
superior  to  earth  and  clay. 

Thus  the  Bible  teaches,  that  God's  work  of  re- 
production has  not  ended.  That  is,  while  no  new 
creations,  strictly  speaking,  like  the  original  calling 
of  matter  from  nothing,  are  going  on  ;  yet,  clianges 
in  the  forms  of  matter  are  constantly  taking  place, 
and  will  continue  to  do  so,  certainly  until  the  Resur- 
rection, and  probably  for  ever.  Certainly  until  the 
Resurrection,  because  it  teaches,  that  changes  of 
7 


146  THE   UmTY    OF   MATTER. 

more  than  one  kind  will  then  be  made.  Two  kinds 
of  new  beings  will  then  be  prodnced,  with  new  na- 
tures ;  one  adapted  to  a  life  and  world  of  eternal 
hap2)iness  ;  the  other,  to  a  life  and  world  of  eternal 
sorrow.  Both  will  be  immortal,  but  each  destined 
to  a  different  world.* 

There  seems  to  be  no  cessation  in  the  changes  of 
matter  on  earth.  Besides  those  already  named  in 
the  earth  and  water,  cold  and  heat,  dryness  and 
moisture,  are  ever  at  work,  changing  the  forms  of 
plants,  animals,  and  inorganized  things.  And 
something  of  this  sort,  as  has  been  already  sug- 
gested, is  probably  going  on  on  a  grander  scale  in 
the  mass  of  matter  composing  worlds  and  systems, 
which  man's  life  is  too  short  to  notice,  or  his  range 
of  observation  too  limited  to  observe. 

Tlie  earthquakes  and  volcanic  action  give  visible 
intimations  of  mysterious  changes  going  on  deep  in 
the  earth,  of  which  we  know  nothing  more  than  the 
fatal  consequences  produced  on  the  surface.  The 
latter  has  poured  out  islands  of  lava,  without 
changing  in  the  least  the  external  surface. 

The  whole  outer  formation  of  the  earth  has  been 
laid  on  strata  after  strata,  in  periods  of  incalculable 
length.  Each  formation  was  a  world  for  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  display  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  ; 
and  each  perished  as  soon  as  it  had  answered  its 
purposes  in  the  economy  of  nature,  and  decom- 
posed to  furnish  new  material  for  new  forms  of 
matter  and  life.  The  whole  foundations  of  the  State 
of  Florida  and  all  its  islands,  with  the  tens  of  thou- 

*  Matt.  XXV.  33 ;  Luke,  xvi.  26. 


THE    UNITY    OF   MATTEK.  14:7 

sands  of  miles  of  coral  islands  and  reefs  m  the  Pa- 
cilic  and  Indian  Oceans,  are  the  ruined  and  deserted 
dwelling-places  of  coral  insects.  They  buikl  until 
they  reach  the  top  of  the  waters,  and  die.  The 
dashings  of  the  ocean  wear  away  the  base,  and 
break  up  the  branch  and  minor  corals,  throw  them 
on  the  reefs,  form  new  islands,  and  thus  go  on 
enlarging  the  surface  of  our  globe. 

All  that  we  know  of  God's  works  is  connected 
with  change.  It  has  been  so  on  earth  from  the  be- 
ginning. It  has  been  so  ever  since  man  came  upon 
it,  and  revelation  teaches  it  will  be  so  until  the  end. 

Before  Adam  were  huge  animals,  which  have 
not  lived  since.  After  his  creation,  the  whole  face 
of  nature  was  changed  by  the  deluge.  At  first 
there  probably  were  neither  rains  nor  storms,  but 
the  earth  was  watered  by  gentle  mists. "  Afterwards 
came  briers  and  thorns,  and  later  yet  storms.  And 
since  l^oah,  races  of  men  and  animals  have  been 
produced  by  changes  of  food,  and  climate  and  isola- 
tion, intermarriage  and  absorption,  which  had  no 
existence  before  the  deluge. 

The  races  in  the  tierra  calienta,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  in  N^orth  and  South  America  and  India, 
difier  in  the  same  way  from  the  same  races  which 
live  in  the  elevated  regions ;  and  it  is  wholly  the 
result  of  food  and  climate.  One  century  of  resi- 
dence in  a  warm  climate,  wdth  inadequate  and 
improper  food,  and  isolation  and  exposure  to  the 
elements,  will  change  the  appearance  and  language 
of  an  European  so  much  that  he  will  scarcely  be 
recognized, 

*  Gen.  ii.  5,  6. 


148  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

One  may  satisfy  himself  of  this  fact,  by  visiting 
tlie  out-islands  of  the  Bahamas ;  and  the  sheep  im- 
ported there  from  England,  in  less  time,  have 
changed  their  wool  to  hair,  and  resemble  goats 
more  than  sheep. 

The  skull  of  the  man  has  changed  its  configura- 
tion, the  cheek  bones  are  more  elevated,  and  their 
movements  resemble  tlie  aborigines  of  America, 
more  than  the  noble  race  from  which  they  have 
degenerated.  Extreme  examples  are  here  referred 
to,  but  this  tendency  is  seen  in  the  whole  stock. 

Intermarriage  has  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with 
quickening  the  declension  in  particular  families; 
while  those  where  a  better  condition  and  non-inter- 
marriage has  prevailed,  have  undergone  but  little 
change.  Similar  changes  are  seen  to  be  gradually 
going  on  over  all  the  earth. 

The  pioneer  settlers  in  the  south  and  south- 
western United  States,  in  three  generations,  under 
circumstances  of  isolation,  improper  food,  and  hab- 
itations aifording  poor  protection  from  the  weather, 
are  seen  to  have  approximated  very  markedly  to- 
wards the  aborigines  in  external  appearance,  and 
especially  in  the  elevation  of  the  cheek-bone. 

A  tendency  to  an  increase  of  bile,  caused  by  re- 
moval from  a  high  to  a  low  latitude,  independently 
of  the  sun,  does  cause  a  change  of  the  color  of  the 
skin  not  exposed  to  the  air.  But  when  both  are 
combined,  as  in  the  case  of  savages,  without  cloth- 
ing, the  change  will  be  rapid  and  lasting,  and  in 
time  transmissible. 

To  all  this  it  is  well  known  that  it  is  objected: 
that  diiFerent  types  of  men  existed  more  than  three 


THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER.  149 

thousand  years  ago  ;  and  that  the  craninms  of  the 
races  from  the  ancient  catacombs  show  the  same 
peculiarities  which  exist  at  the  present  day. 

To  this  it  is  answered,  that  the  hiw  of  change  in 
the  race  of  man  and  of  animals  has  its  limits  ;  and 
when  attained,  is  stationary.  It  does  not  follow, 
that  a  race,  when  once  changed,  will,  on  being  taken 
back  to  its  original  habitat,  return  to  its  original 
condition. 

It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  God  has  origi- 
nated these  laws.  He  hides  Himself  behind  them, 
that  He  may  be  in  harmony  with  himself  in  all 
things.  The  law  may  have  been  made  to  produce 
varieties  of  races  ;  at  all  events  it  is  so  contrived 
that  when  this  purpose  is  accomplished,  the  race 
shall  be  permanent. 

So  far  as  observation  extends,  it  is  probable  that 
when  the  limit  of  a  change  has  been  attained,  the 
new  race  wdll,  on  being  restored  to  its  former  hab- 
itation, die  out.  It  will  neither  change  back,  nor 
long  survive.  This  is  seen  to  be  the  case  with 
the  negro  in  the  temperate  zone.  In  the  JS^orthern 
States  of  America,  they  perished  w^hen  left  to  their 
own  resources,  sooner  than  the  Indians  did,  with  all 
the  aggression  made  on  them. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Pinckney,  a  mulatto  Episcopal 
minister,  and  late  missionary  to  Africa,  has  just  re- 
turned, broken  dow^n  by  the  fever  of  the  climate. 
He  said  to  the  writer,  that  having  African  blood, 
and  being  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  he  thought 
he  could  stand  the  climate  ;  but  he  believed  it  was 
more  severe  on  his  race  than  on  the  whites. 


150  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

The  formation  of  races  has  been  by  the  opera- 
tion of  heatj  food,  effects  of  climate,  and  absorption 
by  intermarriage,  combined  with  moral  causes 
which  man  may  never  understand. 

God  said,  when  the  Israelites  entered  Canaan, 
the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  full ;  and  it 
was  some  centuries  before  they  were  absorbed,  and 
lost  their  nationality. 

But  the  changes  which  have  been  going  on  from 
the  beginning,  are  going  on  at  the  present  day  be- 
fore our  own  eyes.  They  act  on  man  and  other 
animals,  and  all  organic  life.  Hence  the  different 
faunae  of  the  earth.  In  each  of  the  districts  there 
is  a  distinct  race  of  man  at  the  head.  Hence  in  the 
regions  where  the  black  man  is  found,  there  is  a 
black  ourang ;  in  the  region  of  the  chocolate-colored 
Malay,  is  the  brown  ourang ;  and  similar  ^^eculiar- 
ities  of  harmony  and  color  are  found  in  Madagascar 
and  Western  Africa,  showing  that  the  inferior  ani- 
mals have  obeyed  that  great  unwritten  law  which 
has  so  powerfully  operated  on  the  human  race. 

All  the  races  of  man  have  originated  from  the 
highest  type,  or  the  now  called  Caucasian.  That 
race,  created  in  a  temperate  zone,  gradually  diffused 
itself  in  every  direction. 

We  have  said  the  same  cliano^es  are  ^roino:  on 
now,  that  have  been  from  tlie  beginning,  and  the 
races  are  multiplying  beyond  any  preceding  age. 
jS'ew  races  are  forming  all  over  the  earth  ;  in  India, 
by  the  intermixture  of  the  White  and  Indian ;  in 
the  West  Indies  and  the  United  States,  by  the 
White  and  Negro ;  in  Mexico,  by  the  Spaniard  and 


THE    UNITY    OF    ilATTEE.  151 

Indian ;  in  North  America,  by  the  White  and  In- 
dian ;  and  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  by  a  similar 
process. 

But  changes  do  take  place  even  in  pure-blooded 
Africans  in  our  own  land.  They  are  gradually  as- 
suming an  European  type  of  feature ;  and  it  is  not 
impossible  that  very  considerable  changes  towards 
the  original  type  would  be  made  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances.  The  restoration  would 
necessarily  be  infinitely  slower  than  the  original 
change,  because  there  is  nothing  to  take  the  place 
of  the  powerful  sun-light  in  causing  it. 

It  is  mainly  by  the  absorption  of  one  race  by 
another,  after  they  have  taken  the  form  which  cer- 
tain conditions  have  impressed  on  them,  which 
causes  the  variety  of  color  and  physiognomy,  and 
anatomy  which  are  visible  among  the  human  race. 

If  any  one  doubts  this,  he  has  but  to  visit  our 
Western  frontier,  in  any  direction,  from  Maine  to 
Oregon,  where  the  red  men  linger  on  the  confines 
of  civilization.  He  will  there  see  the  races  disap- 
pearing by  both  causes  of  extinction  and  amalga- 
mation with  the  conquering  races.  Intermixture  of 
blood  is  producing  new  types  of  mankind. 

Among  the  Penobscots,  and  partially  among 
the  Cherokees,  the  work  is  nearly  completed.  The 
Indian  scarcely  retains  any  thing  of  his  original 
type,  but  his  long,  straight  black  hair.  At  points 
where  the  amalgamation  is  less,  the  same  thing  is 
seen  in  a  smaller  degree. 

Dr.  Wilson  says  :  "  Tlie  Indian  may  remain  un- 
civilized, and  perish  before  the  advance  of  civiliza- 


152  THE    UNITY    OF   MATTEE. 

tion,  which  brings  for  him  only  vice,  famine,  and 
disease  in  its  train  ;  hut  such  is  not  the  case  with  the 
mixed  race  of  white  fraternity.  Much,  perhaps  all 
of  their  a^Dtitude  for  civilization,  may  come  by  their 
Em'opean  heritage  of  blood,  but  the  Indian  element 
survives  even  when  the  all-predominating  Anglo- 
Saxon  vitality  has  effaced  its  physical  manifesta- 
tions." 

But  to  return  to  the  fact,  that  there  has  been 
distinct  races  on  the  earth  for  more  than  three  thou- 
sand years,  whose  anatomical  characteristics  have 
not  changed.  We  say,  that  all  that  is  satisfactorily 
known  of  the  fact,  goes  to  establish  the  doctrine  of 
the  unity  of  the  human  race. 

The  earliest  accounts  of  these  different  types, 
which  are  only  four,  are  derived  from  the  ruins  of 
Assyria  and  Egypt,  and  date  from  about  fifteen 
hundred  years  before  Christ.  They  are  the  White, 
the  Black,  the  Bed,  and  the  Yellow.  The  divisions 
of  the  globe  then  inhabited  had  produced  but  four 
races.  And  they  have  remained  stationary  from 
that  day  to  this.     This  "is  the  argument. 

Those  that  remained  stationary  have  retained 
the  type  they  then  had  ;  but  tliose  which  migrated 
and  intermarried,  and  carried  on  war  between  them- 
selves, have  changed,  and  spread  and  multiplied  the 
races,  until  now  the  types  have  more  than  doubled. 

Now  anoher  fact  meets  us.  Since  then,  those 
four  races  have  spread  over  the  earth.  Three  thou- 
sand years  have  rolled  away,  but  they  have  left  be- 
hind them  traces  of  their  mighty  revolutions  in  new 
races  of  men  and  animals,  and  plants. 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  153 

It  took  Rve  centuries  for  tlie  operation  of  God's 
physical  laws  to  produce  the  first  three  new  races ; 
and  now  we  find  five  more  new  and  distinct  types 
of  the  American,  the  Australian,  the  Hottentot,  the 
Malay,  and  the  Mozambiquan.  And  we  see  also, 
that  the  facilities  of  modern  intercourse  are  laying 
the  foundations  of  various  new  types. 

The  animals  and  plants  of  the  different  zones 
have  mutual  relation  to  each  other.  The  advocates 
of  diversity  admit  this.  These  zones  have  well  de- 
fined limits.  "While  the  law  which  produces  the 
results  is  veiled  from  man's  scrutiny,  yet  he  does 
perceive  that  certain  results  are  j)roduced  on  every 
form  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  which  comes 
within  their  influence.  The  seed  of  the  Irish  pota- 
to, carried  from  'New  England  to  Florida,  has  to 
be  yearly  renewed  to  secure  a  crop. 

God  made  the  earth  to  be  inhabited.  The  ani- 
mals, starting  from  a  common  centre,  sought  the 
localities  adapted  to  their  nature.  The  deluge 
scattered  the  seeds  deposited  in  antideluvial  times 
over  the  surface,  and  buried  them  over  all  the  earth. 

A  new  plant  has  been  known  to  spring  up  from 
pure  white  sea  sand,  dug  up  in  Florida  from  thirty 
to  forty  feet  below  the  surface.  These  seeds,  like 
the  animals,  finding  an  appropriate  condition  of 
soil  and  climate,  there  formed  new  homes  for  them- 
selves, and  spread  in  every  direction,  until  they 
encountered  barriers  of  inhospitable  climate  or 
soil. 

If  the  cause  of  the  disturbance  of  the  present 
formation  of  the  earth's  surface  shall  be  ever  satis- 
7^ 


154  THE    UNITY   OF   MATTER. 

factorily  determined,  it  will  be  found  to  have  been 
the  now  to  some  extent  ridiculed  universal  deluge. 

When  the  earth  was  submerged,  and  its  soil 
made  soluble  by  the  water,  great  tidal  currents 
swept  over  its  whole  surface.  This  mixed  up  the 
seeds  which  had  been  deposited  over  the  face  of  the 
earth,  scattered  them  every  where,  and  buried  them 
every  where,  deep  enough  in  the  disturbed  soil, 
when  it  settled,  to  preserve  them  for  ever. 

It  is  believed,  that  there  is  not  a  foot  of  soil  on 
earth,  no  matter  how  deeply  buried,  which,  when 
brought  up  and  exposed  to  the  sunlight  and  air, 
will  not  put  forth  some  vegetable  form  of  life. 

Let  infidel  science  account  for  this  fact  on  some 
more  reasonable  ground,  than  the  satisfactory  one 
of  the  deluge,  and  its  explanation  will  be  entitled 
to  a  candid  consideration.  This  shows  that  every 
inch  of  soil  on  earth  was  disturbed  and  solved  by 
this  miraculous  outpouring  of  water  from  heaven. 

The  very  day  the  deluge  began  it  broke  up  the 
foundations  of  the  great  deep  ;  that  is,  destroyed  the 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  land  and  the  sea. 
The  water  continued  to  rise  for  forty  days,  covering 
"  All  the  high  hills,"  says  the  Word  of  God,  "  that 
were  under  the  whole  heaven."  And  it  did  not  stop 
there,  but  "  fifteen  cubits  upwards  did  the  waters 
prevail,  and  the  mountains  were  covered.^''  Thus 
the  tops  of  the  mountain  were  buried  twenty-two 
feet  and  over  beneath  the  surface  of  this  mighty 
deluge. 

It  may  be  determined,  with  mathematical  cer- 
tainty, that  the  atmosphere  of  the  earth,  which  is 


THE    UNITY    OF   MATTER.  155 

live  times  its  radius  in  height,  miglit,  by  a  slight 
change  of  its  elements,  be  all  converted  into  water. 

By  increasing  the  permanent  elastic  ilnid  of  oxy- 
gen in  the  composition  of  the  air,  to  only  two  or  three 
times  its  present  comparatively  small  amount,  with 
a  slight  addition  of  hydrogen,  which  is  one  of  the 
constituents  of  the  water,  a  deluge  would  be  caused 
which  would  overwhelm  the  earth  to  a  much  great- 
er depth  than  that  indicated  in  the  Bible. 

Or  even  a  moderate  increase  of  the  latent  heat, 
which  now  intervenes  between  the  particles  of  wa- 
ter, together  with  a  precipitation  of  all  the  moisture 
in  the  air,  would  doubtless  cause  the  earth  to  be 
submerged  to  as  great  a  depth  as  is  there  repre- 
sented. 

Thus  it  is  seen,  that  there  are  natural  agents  at 
hand,  and  existing  in  the  elements  of  air  and  water 
themselves,  which  could  readily  have  produced  all 
the  effects  described  by  the  Bible ;  which  are 
strongly  corroborated  by  physical  facts  existing  on 
the  earth's  surface,  and  compel  every  unprejudiced 
mind  to  believe  in  an  nniversal  deluge,  which  cov- 
ered the  tops  of  the  highest  mountains. 

That  miraculous  outpouring  of  water  may  have 
been  nothing  more  than  a  temporary  restoration  of 
the  fluids  of  the  earth  to  the  condition  in  which 
they  were  before  the  creation  of  the  six  days'  work 
began. 

The  whole  atmosphere  which  surrounds  our 
globe  is  composed  of  the  same  material  as  the  wa- 
ters, there  being  only  a  slight  change  in  the  combi- 
nations of  the  elements. 


156  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

That  fluid  we  call  air  was  once  a  part  of  the 
water  of  the  earth.  It  was  separated  by  God  on  the 
second  day  of  creation,  and  made  to  take  its  present 
place  and  form.  At  the  deluge  a  restoration  may 
have  taken  place,  which  lasted  during  the  year,  and 
never  again  regained  its  original  equilibrium.  This 
would  account  for  the  diminished  longevity  of  man, 
and  sundry  other  physical  mysteries  which  it  is  not 
now  our  province  to  discuss. 

These  waters  encompassed  the  whole  earth,  and 
tore  uj),  when  the  foundations  of  the  great  deep 
broke  up,  the  ice-bound  regions  of  the  Northern 
and  Southern  Arctic  oceans,  which  had  been  frost- 
chained  there  from  the  time  when  the  earth  assumed 
its  present  temperature. 

The  masses  of  ice,  lifted  by  the  heaving  and 
swelling  of  the  increasing  waters,  from  the  bed  of 
stones  and  earth,  to  which  ice  always  adheres  when 
frozen  to  the  coast  or  ground,  took  up  portions  of 
them  with  it.  These  being  loosened  from  their  an- 
cient foundations,  went  drifting  away  over  the  vast 
abyss  of  waters. 

Drifting  slowly,  but  borne  onward  by  the 
mighty  current,  caused  by  the  revolution  of  the 
earth  on  its  axis,  without  any  intermediate  conti- 
nents to  impede  their  j)rogress,  these  icebergs  were 
borne  towards  the  equator.  Passing  the  tops  of 
the  submerged  mountains  they  crushed  and  ground 
them  ;  and  as  they  gradually  melted,  deposited  earth 
and  rocks  along  their  pathway,  and  produced  all  the 
phenomena  of  what  is  commonly  called  the  great 
"Drift  Period." 


THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER.  157 

Tliis  theory,  and  tliis  alone,  satisfactorily  ac- 
connts  for  the  peculiar,  worn  clown  places  on  some 
mountains,  and  for  the  remarkable  distribution  of 
boulders,  under  a  particular  law,  which  every  where 
governed  their  dispersion.  It  accounts  for  their 
deposition  on  the  tops  of  mountains  ;  as  they  would 
first  ground  there,  deposit  and  rise,  and  so  float  on. 

As  we  say  of  the  diversity  of  the  races  of  man, 
so  also  of  this  theory ;  when  infidel  science  can  show 
another  which  as  satisfactorily  accounts  for  the 
phenomena  of  the  drift  period,  it  will  be  entitled  to 
due  consideration. 

We  have  no  objection  to  any  thing  which  science 
can  demonstrate.  We  are  prepared  to  believe  sci- 
ence before  the  Bible,  as  it  is  at  present  understood, 
if  they  seem  to  conflict ;  because  we  are  sure  that 
they  will  agree  when  both  are  rightly  understood. 
And  we  shall  be  willing  to  wait  until  we  are  able  to 
understand  the  Bible  as  it  is  interpreted  by  the 
Works  of  God. 

We  have  no  objection  to  placing  the  creation  of 
man  back  millions  of  ages,  if  science  can  show  rea- 
sonable grounds  for  it.  But  at  present  all  things, 
as  we  understand  them,  conclusively  and  harmo- 
niously teach  the  recentness  of  man's  creation,  the 
unity  of  the  human  race,  and  the  universality  of  the 
N'oachic  Deluge. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression  concerning 
the  deluge. 

The  fact  of  the  fewness  of  the  races  of  man,  in 
the  earliest  accounts  of  them,  is  an  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation.     It  shows 


158  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

the  probable  recentness  of  man  ;  and  that  the  race, 
like  the  globe  it  inhabits,  and  the  Churcli  and  Gos- 
pel which  are  the  means  of  his  salvation,  has  grad- 
ually attained  its  maturity. 

Then  no  Asiatics  had  reached  the  Arctic  region, 
and  so  there  were  no  Esquimaux ;  none  had  pene- 
trated to  America  and  Australia,  and  so  there  were 
no  American  or  Australian  races. 

The  moral  laws,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made,  it  is  not  the  province  of  this  work  to  con- 
sider ;  yet  they  have  helped  to  cause  the  variety,  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  diversity  is  partially  a  curse, 
so  far  as  the  earth  is  concerned.  But  they  are  des- 
tined, when  better  understood,  to  enter  largely  into 
the  calculation  touching  the  diversity  of  the  race. 

It  is  said,  the  white  man  has  been  more  than 
two  centuries  on  this  continent,  and  that  no  indica- 
tion of  approximation  to  the  red  man  is  seen.  Our 
Indians  were  Asiatics,  and  not  white  men,  when 
they  emigrated  to  America.  Moreover,  the  habits, 
food,  and  shelter  of  the  whites  have  been  vastly  dif- 
ferent in  modern  times,  from  the  I^omadic  starve- 
lings who  first  penetrated  to  this  continent.  While 
men  are  comfortably  housed  and  fed,  probably  a 
long  time  would  be  required  to  effect  a  perceptible 
change  in  any  race. 

But  a  change  is  seen  in  those  who  have  lived  but 
two  generations  in  our  Southern  and  South-western 
regions,  in  habits  conformable  to  the  aborigines. 
And  they  are  of  such  character  as  to  fully  warrant 
the  belief  that  in  a  few  centuries  their  posterity 
could  not  well  be  told  from  the  native  Indian. 


THE    UNITY    OF   MATTEK.  159 

.  The  advocates  of  the  opposing  theory  are  con- 
stantly forced  to  admissions  which  contradict  them- 
selves. In  the  new  work  on  the  Types  of  Mankind, 
it  is  said :  "  J^ot  only  do  the  animals  change  from 
one  hemisphere  to  another,  but  these  differences  ex- 
ist even  between  various  regions  of  the  same  hemis- 
phere. The  species  belonging  to  the  western  comi- 
tries  of  the  old  world  are  not  identical  with  those  of 
the  eastern.  It  is  true  that  they  often  resemble  each 
other  so  closely,  that  until  very  recently  they  have 
been  confounded." 

What  is  this  but  an  admission  of  the  doctrine, 
that  these  changes  are  gradual,  and  that  animals  as 
well  as  men,  when  they  range  beyond  the  zone, 
where  they  have  undergone  marked  changes  for  a 
time,  resemble  each  other  "  so  closely,  that  until 
very  recently  they  have  been  confounded." 

Prof.  Agassiz  says,  "  The  hog  descends  from  the 
common  boar  now  found  wild  over  the  wdiole  tem- 
perate zone  of  the  old  world."  Now  there  are  as 
great  varieties  of  swine  as  of  men ;  and  there  is 
not  a  greater  anatomical  difference  between  the 
negro  and  white  man,  than  there  is  between  a  Berk- 
shire and  Florida  pig. 

This  difference  is  the  result  of  food  and  climate. 
The  progeny  of  the  finest  breed  of  swine,  when 
turned  out  in  Florida,  soon  begin  to  have  elongated 
snouts,  and  to  change  the  anatomical  structure  of 
their  heads. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  discriminate  be- 
tween the  fresh  and  salt  water  animals  of  certain 
districts.     But  it  was  found  impossible,  and  this  is 


160  THE    UNITY    OF   MATTEK. 

an  evidence  that  the  changes  m  the  races  of  aquatic 
animals  have  been  wrought  in  the  same  way  as 
among  the  terrestrial  ones,  by  the  peculiarities  of 
temperature  and  food. 

Prof.  Agassiz  thinks  it  extraordinary,  and  of 
course  against  the  theory  of  the  unity  of  the  human 
race,  "  that  the  earliest  migrations  recorded  show 
us  man  meeting  man."  The  going  forth  of  Cain 
may  not  have  been  until  he  was  two  or  three  hun- 
dred years  old.  If  so,  then  the  world  may  have  had 
its  millions  of  inhabitants.  We  know  that  the  sin- 
gle family  of  Jacob,  in  four  hundred  and  twenty 
years  in  Egypt,  increased  to  more  than  three  mil- 
lions ;  and  if  they  had  remained  there  one  hundred 
and  eighty  years  more^  increasing  in  the  same  ratio, 
they  would  have  numbered  nearly  two  hundred 
millions. 

We  know  also  tliat  twenty  successive  removes 
from  a  single  couple,  in  a  few  hundred  years,  gives 
millions.  Hence  we  need  not  be  surprised,  that  in 
those  days  of  primeval  longevity  and  health,  if  the 
world,  in  a  few  hundred  years  after  creation  or  the 
deluge,  had  its  millions  of  population. 

The  Bible  gives  us  no  account  of  the  children 
of  Adam,  except  in  two  lines.  They  are  the  types 
of  the  good  and  the  bad  descendants  in  a  single 
line.  Suppose  that  Adam  had  only  half-a-dozen 
such  families  going  out  from  him  in  three  hundred 
years,  he  would  have  had  more  posterity  than  there 
are  now  inhabitants  in  the  United  States. 

Doubtless  the  increase  of  the  race  was  more 
rapid  then  than  now.     Those  migrations   reached 


THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER.  161 

every  wliere  in  tlie  Eastern  world.  The  same  thing 
would  again  follow  after  the  deluge.  And  we  see 
what  migration  has  done  in  America  in  two  hun- 
dred years. 

The  advocates  of  the  former  theory  travel  back 
to  Egypt  and  Assyria  to  prove  their  doctrine.  We 
have  shown  that  we  have  evidence  before  onr  own 
eyes  to  confirm  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  These 
changes  of  modern  times  are  sufficient  to  satisfac- 
torily account  for  all  the  diversities  to  be  found  in 
the  human  race. 

But  lest  any  one  should  think  these  examples 
are  local,  belonging  to  our  own  continent  only,  or 
are  chosen  from  the  extremes  of  the  human  family, 
the  negro  and  white  man,  let  us  cross  the  Atlantic 
to  our  mother  land. 

The  Welsh,  Irish,  and  Scotch  are  of  a  common 
race.  Yet  the  trifling  differences  of  food,  and  cli- 
mate, and  condition,  have  made  the  inhabitants  of 
those  three  islands,  among  which  this  great  family 
is  dispersed,  appear  almost  like  distinct  races.  At 
all  events  the  same  kinds  of  changes  in  appearance 
and  language  have  taken  j)lace  there,  and  within 
the  historical  period  which  are  seen  in  the  aborigines 
of  America. 

Again,  the  burly  Englishman,  God  be  praised 
that  he  was  our  ancestor,  and  his  Church  our  mother, 
is  from  the  same  family;  intermarriage  with  the 
Saxon  and  ISTorman,  and  ''ros'  beef"  have  made 
him  to  differ  so  widely  from  his  brothers  of  the  old 
"Welsh  homestead,  as  to  appear  almost  like  another 
race. 


162  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTEK. 

And  there  is  an  example  of  even  a  greater 
change  in  the  same  stock,  in  the  Anglo-American. 
The  English  families  which  emigrated  to  'New  Eng- 
land, two  hundred  years  ago,  and  have  remained 
pure  to  this  day,  by  intermarriages  among  them- 
selves, are  so  different  from  the  stock  at  home,  which 
has  been  kept  pure  in  a  similar  way,  as  to  almost 
constitute  another  variety. 

The  advocates  of  diversity  class  the  Jews  as  a 
primitive  stock.  IN'ow,  if  there  be  any  reliable  his- 
tory in  the  world,  or  any  thing  connected  with 
men's  past  history  worth  believing,  this  supposition 
is  groundless. 

History  teaches  that  the  race  was  formed  under 
peculiar  conditions  of  servitude  in  Egypt ;  and  that 
two  of  the  ten  tribes,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  were 
of  positive  Egyptian  descent.  With  certain  limita- 
tions, they  afterwards  intermarried  with  the  Egyp- 
tians ;  kindly  relations  existed  between  them  ;  Sol- 
omon had  one  of  the  king's  daughters  for  his  wife. 

Now,  what  do  we  find  ?  Why,  the  physiognomy 
which  we  call  Jewish  is  actually  of  the  ancient 
Egyptian  type.  It  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at 
an  ancient  picture  and  a  modern  Jew,  to  be  struck 
by  the  resemblance. 

The  Jews  were  a  new  race,  formed  by  the  com- 
bination of  the  blood  of  a  single  family  intermingled 
with  another  nation  which  had  lived  its  appointed 
day,  and  was  about  to  perish.  Thus  it  is,  new  races 
and  nations  spring  up  out  of  the  decay  of  perishing 
ones,  just  as  the  decay  of  the  forests  perpetuates  the 
successive  growth  of  new  forests. 


THE   UNITY   OF   MATTEK.  163 

God  forbid  the  Jews  to  intermarry  with  certain 
nations.  They  are  the  living  teachers  of  mankind. 
God  is  teaching  all  the  world  by  means  of  their  his- 
tory. This  may  be  the  way  in  which  he  wishes  ns  to 
learn  all  that  we  can  know,  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  successive  nations  have  been  preserved  and  pro- 
l^agated.  They  show  us  how,  when  one  type  of 
mankind  has  been  formed,  it  will  continue  to  main- 
tain itself  under  the  most  varied  and  trying  vicissi- 
tudes. 

This  race  has  not  changed  in  three  thousand 
years,  and  the  principal  cause  has  been,  because  it 
has  uniformly  abstained  from  intermarriage  with 
other  races.  In  this  way,  combined  with  moral 
causes  also,  they  have  preserved  their  peculiarities 
in  all  their  dispersions. 

Yet  they  have  undergone,  in  some  countries, 
considerable  change  of  color  and  physiognomy,  suf- 
ficient to  show  that  the  causes  which  produced  their 
peculiarities  were  not  immutable,  and  might  have 
been,  but  for  their  clannishness,  wholly  obliterated. 

Perhaps  the  best  evidence  we  have  of  the  unity 
of  the  human  race,  is,  that  in  the  extremes  from  white 
to  black,  and  throjigh  all  the  intermediate  grades, 
their  moral  and  physical  natures  are  substantially 
the  same. 

In  all  the  regions  of  the  earth,  they  are  subject 
to  the  same  diseases,  modified  only  by  climate ;  in 
all  stages  of  elevation  and  depression,  they  have 
similar  hopes  and  fears  of  the  future  ;  all  believe  in 
some  sort  of  a  metempsychosis,  or  immortality  of 
the  soul ;  and  all  have  their  earthly  existence  lim- 


164:  THE    UNITY    OF    MATTER. 

ited  by  the  same  boundaiy  of  threescore  years 
and  ten. 

In  the  works  of  a  Creator  who  so  seems  to  de- 
light in  variety,  this  would  hardly  have  been  the 
case,  unless  the  races  originated  from  a  single  pair. 

God  has  so  constituted  the  w^orld,  that  new 
types  of  beings  shall  be  produced  by  its  influences. 
Thus  He  is  continually  witnessing  new  creations,  or 
diversifications  of  His  works. 

This  law,  under  various  modifications,  is  the 
great  general  one  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
animated  nature ;  and  also  of  the  Kevelations  the 
Creator  has  made.  It  has  divided  men  into  races, 
tribes,  and  nations  ;  and  is  at  work  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  earth,  continually  changing  the  face 
of  its  inhabitants. 

The  same  changes  go  on  in  spiritual  things, 
showing  that  it  is  |)art  of  a  fundamental  character- 
istic of  all  the  works  of  God,  which  come  within 
reach  of  our  observation.  Forms  of  worship,  and 
the  means  by  which  salvation  is  to  be  obtained,  have 
been  changed  by  God.  Sacrifice  has  given  place 
to  sacrament.  The  covenant  has  been  chano^ed ; 
circumcision  has  been  succeeded  hj  baptism. 

The  manner  of  communicating  Divine  instruc- 
tion has  been  changed.  God  taught  Adam,  orally  ; 
his  immediate  descendants,  by  angels ;  the  Jews,  by 
seers  and  pro^^hets,  and  a  written  revelation ;  and 
since  the  Advent  of  our  Lord,  the  whole  world,  by 
the  Gospel,  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  Christian  min- 
istry. 

The  Jewish  liturgy  has  been   changed  to  the 


THE    UNITY    OF   MATTER.  165 

Cliristian.  And  moral  changes  are  constantly  going 
on  among  men  more  wonderful.  By  birth  from 
Adam,  they  receive  a  human  nature,  his  life  and 
likeness ;  by  regeneration  or  a  new  birth  from 
Christ,  they  receive  a  Divine  nature,  the  Life  and 
Likeness  of  God. 

The  child  is  born  into  the  world  and  gradually 
grows  into  Adam's  likeness;  he  is  re-born  and 
gradually  grows  into  the  stature  and  moral  like- 
ness of  Christ.  Adam  was  the  head  of  a  new  race 
of  intelligent  beings,  destined  to  pass  the  life  it  re- 
ceived from  him  on  the  earth.  Christ  is  the  Head 
of  a  ncAV  spiritual  race,  not  simply  man,  but  God 
and  man  united  in  a  physical  union  (so  to  speak) ; 
and  it  is  destined  to  live  in  heaven  for  ever. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  was  as  much  a  new  man  as 
Adam  ;  a  past  eternity  had  seen  no  other  such  Be- 
ing, and  the  beginning  of  a  new  creation ;  not 
proj)erly  a  creation,  however,  because  not  formed 
from  nothing.  But  the  life  of  God,  and  the  life  of 
man,  two  pre-existing  j^rinciples,  were  brought  into 
union  to  form  the  new  being.  One  life  fits  man  for 
one  world,  and  the  other  for  another.  Thus  it  is 
seen,  that  both  physical  and  moral  changes  are  con- 
tinually going  on  ;  and  man,  in  his  present  state,  is 
in  process  of  both  kinds  of  transitions.  God's  three 
great  revelations  thus  run  into  each,  harmonize  with 
each  other,  and  teach,  so  far  as  we  can  understand 
them,  the  same  Divine  lessons,  and  that  one  Mind 
was  their  common  Author. 

This  law  respecting  those  created  anew  in  Christ 
is  an  ascending  one,  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  type  of 


166  THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER. 

living  beings.  But  there  is  also  a  descending  one, 
like  that  we  see  among  tlie  races  on  earth,  reaching 
to  this  world  from  another,  the  result  of  a  moral 
cause  ;  and  which  warrants  the  belief,  that  the  law 
we  see  executing  itself  on  earth,  is  part  of  an  uni- 
versal one,  extending  throughout  creation. 

The  devil  has  passed  over  from  his  own  world  to 
the  earth,  and  has  been  for  centuries  employed  in 
forming  a  new  race  of  spiritual  beings,  which  will, 
when  completed,  be  removed  from  the  earth  to 
another  world.  And  that  type  like  the  former  one 
created  anew  in  Christ  will  be  a  permanent  one. 

These  are  great  lessons  from  God  to  man.  And 
we  clearly  discern  in  all  these  connections  and  har- 
monies of  the  natural  and  s^^iritnal  world,  such  evi- 
dences of  the  wisdom  and  consistency  of  God,  and 
of  the  fact,  that  there  is  but  one  Almighty  Mind 
governing  the  universe,  as  can  be  obtained  by  no 
other  kind  or  amount  of  testimony  which  human 
minds  can  grasp. 

The  Divine  laws  which  govern  both  the  spiritual 
and  the  physical  world  have  been  interrupted  by 
causes  unknown  to  man.  The  interruptions  only 
retarded,  but  did  not  prevent,  the  accomplishment 
of  the  ultimate  intention  of  the  Creator.  In  slow 
and  solemn  majesty,  primeval  matter,  crushed  and 
ground  up  by  mighty  convulsions,  formed  the  seve- 
ral strata  of  the  earth.  All  had  reference  to  a  final 
object.  Yet  the  laws  of  these  formations  were  often 
interrupted,  and  we  now  see  that  they  were  with 
views  of  ultimate  benevolence  to  man.  But  for  the 
disturbance  of  those  general  laws,  coal  and  iron,  the 


THE    UNITY    OF    MATTP:R.  16^i 

precious  metals  and  minerals,  would  have  been  in- 
accessible to  liim. 

E,ace  after  race  of  animals  have  lived  and  been 
swept  away  by  mighty  revolutions  of  the  earth's 
surface.  Yet  each  convulsion  laid  up  materials  and 
prepared  the  way  for  higher  orders  of  beings,  until 
at  last,  came  man  in  the  likeness  of  God,  to  use 
them  in  embellishing  the  earth. 

Mind  has  suffered  the  same  interruption  of  the 
general  law  of  its  development  as  matter.  God 
created  Adam,  and  put  him  on  the  earth,  to  do  His 
will ;  the  devil  caused  Adam  to  turn  aside  from 
that  purpose.  He  fell.  There  was  an  interruption 
of  the  process,  but  not  of  the  plan.  God  foresaw 
the  fall,  and  provided  against  its  consequences. 

It  was  the  voluntary  act  of  a  free  agent,  and  He 
would  not  prevent  it ;  but  He  did  provide  against 
the  terrible  consequences  of  the  violation  of  His 
own  laws,  though  the  sin  was  voluntary  on  the  crea- 
ture's part.  God  will  finally  accomplish  the  same 
purpose  by  man's  creation,  that  He  would  have  done 
if  Adam  had  not  sinned. 

It  took  tlie  race  nearly  four  thousand  years  to 
recover  from  the  stunning  effects  of  the  fall.  And 
who  shall  say,  that  the  light  and  civilization  of 
Christendom  are  not  infinitely  greater  than  they 
would  have  been  without  it  ?  Who  shall  say,  that 
the  honor  and  glory  to  which  Christians  will 
attain  in  a  future  life,  will  not  be  transcendently 
greater  than  they  would  have  been  without  it  ? 

God  not  only  thwarted  the  devil's  evil  intentions 
towards  man,  but  turned  them  to  blessings,  enhan- 


168  THE    UNITY   OF   MATTER. 

cing  liis  eternal  happiness  and  glorj.  The  spiritual 
reo-eneration  of  the  world  is  a  nobler  work  than  its 
creation ;  it  gives  a  deeper  knowledge  of  God's 
character  and  love  of  man  than  creation  ;  and  there 
conld  have  been  no  work  of  redemption,  but  for  the 
prior  one  of  creation,  and  the  fall  of  man.  Both 
were  necessary  to  bi-ing  greater  glory  to  God.  And 
thus  it  is  seen,  that  mind  and  matter,  creation,  and 
the  fall,  and  redemption,  are  parts  of  a  vast  plan,  of 
which  only  some  points  are  visible  to  us,  but  which 
bind  the  universe  into  a  sublime  unity  in  the  Divine 
will. 

In  the  fulness  of  time,  God  sent  His  Son  to  repair 
the  breach  man  had  made  in  His  perfect  plan,  and 
to  quicken  the  race  to  the  development  of  its  men- 
tal maturity.  If  the  Son  ol  God  would  not  have 
come  into  this  world  without  the  fall,  who  would 
regret  that  fall.  If  it  be  objected,  that  it  caused 
Him  suffering,  it  is  answered,  that  it  is  the  sublimest 
spectacle  the  intelligent  beings  of  the  universe  ever 
witnessed.  It  was  the  vohmtary  Buffering  of  the 
Creator,  for  the  eternal  salvation  of  His  erring  and 
fallen  creatures. 

The  likeness  of  God  lost  by  Adam,  only  put 
back  the  race,  and  temporarily  checked  its  glorious 
march  to  the  goal  of  immortality.  That  was  its 
original  destiny.  And  Christians  are  now  pilgrim- 
aging on  to  it  with  the  benefit  of  Adam's  experience, 
and  the"  fuller  knowledge  of  the  Creator's  love,  amid 
a  blaze  of  celestial  light,  such  as  the  earth  never 
would  have  had  unless  Adam  had  fallen,  and  the 
Son  of  God  had  suffered. 


THE   UNITY   OF  MATTER.  169 

The  law  of  man's  progress,  like  the  laws  of  the 
formation  of  his  world,  were  interrupted,  with  de- 
signs of  infinite  benevolence  to  him. 

The  race  had  only  to  wait,  until  successive  gene- 
rations had  recovered  from  that  disastrous  check ; 
until  the  law  of  the  elder  dispensation  had  performed 
its  task,  of  schooling  humanity  into  a  state  to  re- 
ceive, in  the  fulness  of  time,  not  only  a  higher 
revelation,  but  also  a  larger  measure  of  the  Divine 
Life  than  was  first  breathed  into  Adam.  God 
breathed  into  the  clay,  and  Adam  became  a  living 
soul ;  but  now  into  that  living  soul  the  Spirit  of 
God  enters  to  remain  for  ever. 

No  union  between  God  and  man  can  be  more 
awful  and  sacred  than  the  sacramental  one  whereby 
the  soul  is  regenerated,  and  then  receives  the  spir- 
itual Body  and  Blood  of  its  Creator.  And  these 
changes  going  on  on  earth,  in  which  man  is  acting 
so  conspicuous  a  part,  are  not  the  last  in  the  long 
series  he  is  destined  to  go  through,  in  returning  to 
his  Father,  from  whom  he  sprang  and  revolted. 

The  Bible  warrants  this  doctrine  of  the  unity  of 
matter  here  advanced.  In  Genesis,  ch.  ii.,  ver.  1,  is 
given  a  'summary  of  the  conclusion  of  creation.  It 
says,  "  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and 
all  the  host  of  them."  All  were  finished  or  ended ; 
and  there  is  no  subsequent  intimation,  that  God 
ever  wrought  at  any  other  time  for  the  creation  of 
matter ;  and  there  is  no  evidence,  that  any  has 
since  been  created,  or  is  now  in  process  of  creation. 

The  geological  cycles  were  all  after  the  original 
work.  Then  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  fin- 
8 


170  THE   UNITY    OF   MATTER. 

islied,  and  all  tlie  host  of  them,  so  far  as  the  elemen- 
tary material  was  concerned.  By  hosts,  which 
means  bodies,  are  doubtless  meant  both  material 
and  heavenly  bodies,  the  countless  worlds  and  sys- 
tems of  the  universe.  St.  Paul  says,  that  "  the 
worlds  were  framed  by  the  Word  of  God ; "  and 
that  things  seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do 
appear.  All  worlds  are  spoken  of  as  an  unit^  as 
framed  together^  and  so  at  one  time  of  simultaneous 
production. 

The  Psalmist  also  says,  "  Of  old  hast  Thou  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the 
work  of  Thy  hands."  In  the  original,  the  word 
foundation  is  plural,  showing  that  he  is  speaking  of 
it  as  the  abode  of  man.  This  also  accords  with  sci- 
ence, which  teaches  that  in  its  present  state  it  has 
several.  They  are  coupled  together  as  though  of 
simultaneous  creation  ;  yet  both  have  foundations, 
which  doubtless  have  been  the  result  of  changes 
advancing  them  towards  perfection. 

And  then  he  goes  on  to  say  :  "  They  shall  per- 
ish ...  .  yea,  all  of  them  shall  wax  old  like 
a  garment^  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  change  them, 
and  they  shall  he  changed^  Both  are  subject  to 
the  corrodings  of  time  by  change,  the  change  of  one 
form  of  matter  or  life  to  another.  They  shall  perish, 
one  form  after  another,  not  by  annihilation,  hut  hy 
change. 

Isaiah,  on  the  same  subject,  represents  God  as 
saying,  "My  hand  also  hath  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  earth,  and  My  right  hand  hath  spread  out  the 
heavens."     And  the  conclusion  of  the  sentence  is 


THE   UNITY   OF   MATTER.  171 

remarkable,  as  bearing  upon  tiie  doctrine  of  the 
unity  of  matter,  "  /  call  unto  them^  they  stand  top 
together^''  as  though  they  were  united  parts  of  a 
grand  cosmical  whole. 

There  is  one  other  single  item  of  Scriptural  tes- 
timony, bearing  on  the  unity  of  the  matter  of  intel- 
ligent beings,  which,  to  the  writer's  mind,  is  a  more 
powerful  argument  than  either  of  the  otliers.  It  is 
the  fact,  that  angels  are  ca]3able  of  suffering  from 
the  same  physical  causes  as  man.  Hell  is  a  place 
of  suffering  from  fire.  It  would  be  absurd  to  sup- 
pose it  real  fire,  if  the  same  earthly  bodies  were 
raised  from  the  grave.  But  bodies  composed  of  the 
subtiler  elements,  will  not  only  live  in  the  fire  with- 
out consuming,  but  like  electricity,  give  fire  from 
themselves.  Angels  are  therefore  composed  of  mat- 
ter. We  call  them  spiritual  beings,  because  we  are 
ignorant  of  organized  beings  formed  from  such  ele- 
ments ;  but  they  are  to  suffer  bodily  pain  in  hell 
with  man.  This  shows  that  they  are  of  the  same 
substance  with  man,  however  much  the  combina- 
tions of  the  material  may  differ  from  his. 

These  intimations  may  seem  faint,  but  they  are 
incidental,  and  such  only  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected in  a  revelation  whose  main  object  is  to  con- 
vey spiritual  truth. 

The  millions  of  ages  which  prepared  the  earth 
to  be  man's  abode,  their  vast  geological  periods  and 
formations,  are  some  of  the  sublime  Beginnings  of 
progress,  named  in  the  opening  of  the  Book  of 
Genesis,  more  of  which  are  hereafter  to  be  made, 
when  the  Xew  Heavens  and  the  New  Earth  of  the 


172  THE  mriTT  of  matter. 

Apocalypse  shall  be  revealed,  in  the  progress  of 
matter  on  to  perfection.  Undoubtedly,  the  end  of 
creation  will  \)Q  jperfection.  God  will  accomplish  it 
in  His  own  way.  Like  all  God's  works  it  seems  to 
have  had  an  infancy,  and  to  be  ripening  to  maturi- 
ty ;  when  that  is  attained,  then,  eternity  will  be  its 
duration. 

:  As  man's  body  was  created  out  of  the  dust  of 
the  earth,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  change  he 
passes  through  by  death,  on  his  way  to  immortality 
and  perfection,  is  a  type  of  the  progressive  changes 
of  all  matter.  As  plants  "and  animals  grow,  and  de- 
cay, to  furnish  new  material  for  more  life,  for  the 
continuation  of  si^ecies,  so  may  it  be  with  planets, 
suns,  and  systems. 


THE  UNITY   OF  MIND.  173 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

THE     UNITY     OF     MIND. 

When  man  turns  from  tlie  physical  to  tlie  intellec- 
tual world,  he  clearly  discerns  traces  of  the  same 
God,  the  Creator,  stamped  upon  it.  He  sees  Him 
more  plainly  there,  because  mind  is  in  His  image 
and  likeness.  '' K  the  workshop  of  creation  and 
conservation,  about  which  the  physical  sciences  are 
occupied,  were  shown  to  be  hidden  sanctuaries,  how 
much  more  the  laboratories  of  those  delicate,  incom- 
parable, and  supernatural  operations  of  God  which 
are  a  veritable  alchemy  of  nature,"  whereby  the  Di- 
vine mind  is  impressed  on  all  intelligent  creatures, 
and  by  which  they  live,  and  move,  and  have  their 
intellectual  being.  God  is  hidden  here  precisely  as 
in  His  other  works  ;  and  the  imbelieving  fail  to 
discern  His  wisdom  and  love  as  they  do  in  the 
former  ? 

The  power  to  think  is  uncreated.  The  first  thing 
in  the  universe  is  One,  Infinite,  Uncreated,  Intelli- 
gent, Mind.  Our  Blessed  Lord  defines  the  Father 
as  greater  than  all  things,  and  the  Psalmist  says ; 


174:  THE   UNITY   OF   MIND. 

''  He  created  all  things  by  the  breath  of  his  month." 
E'ow  as  all  material  things  come  from  God,  so  do 
all  mental.  He  has,  so  to  speak,  distributed  Him- 
self among  His  sons  in  the  miiverse.  All  intellec- 
tual life  is  uncreated,  derived  life.  As  man  is  a 
part  of  God's  creation,  so  also  is  he  mentally  a  part 
of  His  own  mind.  He  belongs  to  the  kingdom  of 
mind,  is  a  part  of  it  by  a  mental  connection,  as  he 
belongs  to  the  kingdom  of  nature  by  a  physical  one. 

God  has  also  a  kingdom  of  grace,  which  is  su- 
perinduced, and  to  this  all  men  do  not  belong,  only 
the  holy.  All  holy  beings  in  the  universe  belong  to 
it.  It  is  one  of  the  higher  grades  of  intellectual  be- 
ing. Man,  and  every  other  intelligent  being  in  the 
universe,  was  created  in  a  state  of  grace.  But  God 
knew,  as  has  been  shown,  man  would  not  maintain 
his  position,  and  in  the  vast  riches  of  His  love  and 
mercy,  He  provided  against  the  evil  of  his  fall,  and 
devised  the  means  of  his  restoration.  And  here  is 
caught  another  clue  of  the  profound  analogies  ex- 
isting between  mind  and  matter. 

Physical  science  teaches,  that  races  of  animals 
of  one  geological  period  live  over  and  connect  out- 
going and  incoming  races,  like  the  whale,  the  ele- 
phant, and  the  condor  of  the  present  day.  Thus 
there  are  two  types  of  men ;  one  all  earthly  and 
carnal,  the  other  spiritual,  renewed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  a  type  of  future  glorified  beings.  The 
unregenerate  man  is  the  type  of  the  old  fallen 
Adamic  race,  which  is  outgoing,  but  yet  living  over 
its  period  into  the  incoming  spiritual  one. 

God  has  but  one  universal  kingdom  of  matter. 


THE   UNITY    OF   MIND.  175 

and  but  one  of  mind.  Man  by  his  complex  being 
belongs  to  both ;  he  is  therefore  in  unity  witli  the 
entire  universe.  They  are  different  parts  of  a  grand 
whole,  not  in  the  same  way,  but  as  man's  soul  and 
body  make  a  perfect  whole. 

In  examining  the  mysteries  of  the  three  great 
Divine  Revelations,  it  is  evident  that  Three  Divine 
Persons  have  been  employed  in  the  work  ;  but  with 
a  singleness  of  purpose,  and  unity  of  mind  and  ac- 
tion in  all.  One  will  carrying  on  the  designs  of 
creation ;  one  will  repairing  the  ruin  of  the  Fall ; 
that  all  minds  on  earth  might  be  brouglit  into  unity 
with  it. 

It  is  very  remarkable,  that  these  Three  Divine 
Persons  have  visibly  appeared  on  earth  to  accom- 
plish this  work.  God  the  Father  came  into  it  Per- 
sonally after  He  created  man  ;  the  Son  came  after 
the  Fall,  to  redeem  it ;  and  when  He  went  away, 
the  Holy  Ghost  came  to  sanctify  it.  Thus  there  has 
been  a  progressive  action  of  the  Divine  on  the  hu- 
man mind,  wdth  a  direct  view  to  bringing  it  into 
harmony  with  God,  as  it  was  before  the  Fall. 

There  is  but  one  Spirit,  and  but  one  Mind,  in  the 
peox)le  of  God.  And  liere  we  see  how  creation  was 
completed  on  earth ;  what  was  its  design,  so  far  as 
the  earth  is  concerned ;  and  that  its  matter  is  the 
root  and  stock  by  means  of  which  mind  was  to  be 
propagated  and  brought  into  unity  with  God. 
Doubtless,  from  all  the  intimations  in  reacli  of  hu- 
man reason,  the  grand  object  of  creation,  all  ci'ea- 
tion,  has  been  to  spread  out  into  wider  circles, 
widening  into  system  after  system,  new  orders  of 


176  THE  UNITY  OF  MIND. 

intellectual  beings^  to  become  partakers  of  the  won- 
derful grace  of  the  JDivine  Mind. 

God  represents  Himself  as  unchangeable,  "  the 
same  yesterda}^,  to-day,  and  for  ever."  He  is  the 
same  every  where,  in  all  worlds.  He  universally 
works  in  one  way  with  matter,  so  far  as  man  can  dis- 
cern. It  is,  therefore,  a  reasonable  inference,  sanc- 
tioned by  revelation,  that  one  law  prevails  in  all 
worlds,  in  relation  to  mi7id  as  well  as  matter ;  and 
that  the  mind  of  man  is  the  same  as  that  of  all 
immortal  beings. 

The  life  of  God  is  the  only  known  eternal  thing 
in  the  universe.  Man's  life  came  from  God's  breath. 
It  is  tlierefore  j^robable,  that  man  is  the  son  of  God 
in  the  same  sense,  that  all  the  other  intelligent  be- 
ings of  the  universe  are.  The  same  both  in  the  ma- 
terial of  his  body,  and  in  the  inflatus  of  his  soul. 
This  is  the  glorious  theme  which  our  Heavenly 
Father  sets  before  the  children  of  men  as  the  object 
of  their  everlasting  thanksgiving,  adoration,  and 
love. 

The  love  of  God  for  man  is  from  eternity.  He 
loved  us  before  He  founded  the  world.  It  is  the  same 
love  with  which  He  loves,  and  ever  has  loved,  all 
the  creatures  He  ever  made.  He  began  to  love  us, 
when  He  began  to  love  them,  "  from  all  eternity." 
Man  always  existed  in  God's  mind ;  as  His  work,  he 
will  always  exist.  He  is  in  us,  and  we  are  in  Him, 
for  ever  and  ever  ;  after  death  He  will  be  in  us  and 
we  in  Him,  with  one  heart,  one  will,  and  one  mind, 
for  ever. 

On  earth  the  boundless  treasury  of  the  Father's 


THE   UNITY   OF   MESTD.  177 

grace  is  seen  in  the  beneficence  of  creation,  reacliing 
to  the  finish  of  the  wing,  and  the  joy  of  the  instinct 
of  the  minutest  living  thing.  Man  receives  the 
largest  measure  of  Divine  love  because  he  is  the 
noblest  creature  here. 

Tlie  boundless  treasury  of  the  Son's  love  is  seen 
in  his  Advent  and  sacrifice  upon  the  cross  for  all 
mankind ;  not  only  for  those  who  receive,  but  also  for 
those  who  reject  Him;  not  only  for  the  saved,  but 
also  for  those  who  will  be  lost.  And  the  boundless 
treasury  of  the  supernatural  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
spreads  the  Life  of  the  Father,  and  the  love  of  the 
Son,  through  every  soul ;  acting  on  all  consciences, 
whether  they  believe  in  Him  or  no ;  striving  with 
all,  whether  they  will  listen  or  no. 

St.  Paul  says.  Christians  have  ''  the  mind  of 
Christ ; "  he  exhorts  them  to  be  like-minded  one 
toward  another,  acording  to  Jesus  Christ ;  he  speaks 
of  "  the  unity  of  the  Spirit ;  "  and  says,  "  there  is 
one  body  and  one  Spirit."  All  this  bears  upon  the 
doctrine  of  the  unity  of  mind.  It  teaches  it.  All 
men  who  are  in  a  state  of  grace  are  said  to  be  joined 
in  Christ  to  God  ;  and  to  be  one  with  Him,  as  He  is 
with  the  Father.  This  is  wholly  mental  and  spirit- 
ual. One  kind  of  grace,  diff'ering  only  in  degree, 
prevails  in  every  regenerate  soul.  This  must  be 
the  same  in  all  worlds.  It  is  God's  grace,  and  His 
grace  must  prevail  every  where,  and  be  every  where 
the  same. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  theologians.  "  All 
the  angels  of  God,  all  spirits,  and  the  souls  of  the 
righteous,  are  but  one  in  the  sameness  of  their  com- 


178 


THE   UNITY   OF   ]VnND. 


mon  nature They  are  all  one  perfect 

unity." 

This  is  a  reasonable  doctrine.  There  was  evi- 
dently but  one  design  in  the  creation  of  intelligent 
beings,  to  serve  and  love  the  Creator.  All  must 
therefore  have  been  so  created  as  to  understand  His 
revelations.  Keason  is  man's  eminent  mental  char- 
acteristic. He  is  called  God's  son,  or  child ;  and 
all  the  other  children  of  the  universe  resemble  him 
in  their  moral  nature,  although  we  know  that  they 
vastly  differ  in  degrees  of  intelligence. 

Man  is  a  little  lower  than  the  angels.  He  is 
j)hysical,  and  lives  in  a  material  world.  God  re- 
quires of  him  only  one  seventh  part  of  his  time  for 
worship.  Angels  and  pure  spirits  live  in  a  superior 
world,  and  the  service  and  praise  of  God  is  tlieii 
continual  employment. 

Eevelation  confirms  this  doctrine.  An  apostle 
calls  the  souls  of  dej^arted  men  spirits ;  says  they 
are  joined  to  an  "  innumerable  company  of  angels." 
Angels  are  called  spirits,  and  if  men  are  joined  to 
them,  and  engage  in  their  employments,  after  death, 
their  minds  must  be  alike. 

"  God  is  a  Spirit."  He  has  so  revealed  Himself. 
Man  is  His  child  ;  and  so  far  as  he  is  spiritual,  he  is 
like  God.  St.  Paul  teaches,  that  God  made  man 
meet  to  be  partaker  of  the  inheritance  oQ;he  "Holy 
Ones,"  TMv  djLcov,  in  light.  He  is  said  to  be  made 
a  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  in  holy  baptism.  If  he  be  like  them  and 
Him,  and  inheritors  with  them  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  then  must  he  be  like  both  in  spirit. 


THE   UNITY   OF   MESTD.  1Y9 

The  same  Apostle  says,  that  Christ  is  the  image 
of  the  invisible  God,  and  the  first-born  of  every 
creature  ;  and  that  the  great  mystery  brought  to 
light  in  the  Gospel  is,  that  Christ  is  in  man  the 
hope  of  glory.  He  died,  that  man  might  live ; 
might  have  His  life ;  and,  after  giving  Himself  a 
ransom  for  the  Avhole  world,  might,  by  His  resur- 
rection, restore  the  world  to  life.  The  superinduced 
principle  in  man  is  the  same  as  in  Christ.  He  is 
"the  temple  of  God,"  and  His  Spirit  dwells  in 
him  ;  all  have  access  unto  Him  by  one  Spirit ;  and 
are  "  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 
hold of  God." 

Moreover,  the  Bible  teaches,  that  the  design  in 
the  creation  of  man  was  the  same  as  in  all  other 
spiritual  beings,  to  do  God's  will.  Our  Lord  com- 
mands all  men  to  pray,  that  the  Father's  will  may 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  This  could  not 
be  unless  the  mind  of  man  were  of  the  same  nature 
as  that  of  the  beings  in  heaven. 

God  is  our  Father.  He  teaches  us  to  call  Him 
so.  He  is  the  Father  Everlasting  of  all  intelligent 
creatures.  The  unity,  which  exists  in  the  will  of 
the  adorable  Trinity,  affords  a  strong  warrant  for 
belief  in  the  unity  of  all  created  minds. 

The  rational  beings  of  the  universe  are  called,  in 
the  'New  Testament,  "  the  whole  family  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  ;  "  and  are  said  to  be  named  after 
Christ.  It  is  true  of  the  higher  order  of  earth's  in- 
habitants, they  are  called  Christians,  after  Christ. 
Angels  may  have  their  names,  because  they  are 
"  His  messengers."     Indeed,  messenger  is  one  of 


180  THE    UNITY    OF   MIND. 

His  titles  ;  Malachi  calls  Him  "  Tlie  Messenger  of 
tlie  Covenant,"  so  that  this  title  derives  to  them 
identically  as  the  earthly  title  does  to  man.  This 
same  rule  of  naming  may  extend  to  all  worlds. 

There  is  an  unfathomable  meaning  to  the  term 
]^  ame.  It  seems  to  denote  nature.  Man  takes  his 
Divine  name  when  he  receives  baptism,  and  be- 
cause he  has  received  a  Divine  nature.  God  has 
been  known  to  men  in  different  ages  by  different 
names.  His  attributes  and  character  have  been 
gradually  unfolded  by  His  unfolding  name.  At 
first,  His  name  signified  that  He  Was  a  self-existent. 
Almighty  Creator  ;  then  in  His  fullest  revelation  to 
the  Jewish  Church,  as  a  Father ;  at  last,  under  the 
Gospel,  as  our  Father,  the  God  of  Love.  E^early  all 
that  we  know  of  Him,  except  the  attribute  of  power, 
is  learned  from  those  names.  The  last  revelation 
was  the  Doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  The  Apos- 
tles were  commissioned  to  baptize,  or  disciple  into 
Christ,  in  the  name  of  the  Adorable  Trinity. 

The  word  IS^ame  is  often  used  in  the  Gospel  as  a 
synonyme  for  Life.  We  are  named  Christians  at 
ba23tism,  because  we  then  receive  the  Life  of  Christ. 
The  inhabitants  of  other  worlds  feel  an  interest  in 
us,  as  will  be  shown  by  and  by,  and  this  is  evidence 
that  they  belong  to  the  same  family,  are  sons  of  God 
like  us  ;  that  their  spiritual  nature  is  like  ours  ;  and 
that  we  are  brethren  in  a  common  Head,  from 
whom,  in  whom,  and  for  whom  are  all  things.  The 
name  Jesus  is  not  earthly,  but  from  heaven.  The 
Angel  Gabriel  announced  that  His  mother  would 
"call  His  name  Jesus." 


THE   UNITY  OF  MIND.  181 

Angels  feel  an  interest  in  men,  and  from  the  be- 
ginning have  taken  part  in  human  affairs.  Eepeated 
instances  are  mentioned  of  their  participation  in 
doing  good  and  evil  to  the  bodies  as  well  as  souls 
of  men,  under  the  Patriarchal  and  JoAvish  disj)en- 
sations.  Throughout  the  first  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  their  presence  on  earth  was  almost  con- 
tinual. The  Gos]3el  represents  them  as  watching 
over  children,  and  rejoicing  over  the  salvation  of 
sinners.  We  feel  an  interest  in  them,  long  to  know 
more  of  them  than  the  scanty  allusions  of  the  Bible 
furnish.  Here  is  a  reciprocity  of  mind^  interest, 
and  action.  Evil  spirits  hate  and  try  to  destroy 
men,  as  evil  men  do  one  another.  This  shows  that 
negatively  and  positively  their  minds  are  like 
man's.  And  it  affords  reasonable  ground  for  be- 
lieving, that  a  common  mind  prevails  among  the 
whole  family  of  intelligent  beings  of  the  Father 
Everlasting. 

The  Bible  teaches,  that  all  the  holy  and  redeemed 
souls  in  the  universe  will  be  hereafter  gathered  into 
one  kingdom,  where  they  will  know  one  another 
with  perfect  knowledge,  and  love  one  another  wdth 
perfect  love.  This  is  said  to  be  the  mystery  of  God's 
will,  which  He  planned  for  His  own  pleasure  ;  that 
in  the  fulness  of  time  He  might  gather  together  in 
One  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  the 
heavens^  and  which  are  on  earth. 

All  revelation  recognizes  the  fact,  that  intelli- 
gent beings  were  created  to  worship  God.  The 
attributes  of  the  Divine  Mind  must  be,  to  some  ex- 
tent revealed  to  all ;  and  the  minds  of  all  must  be 


182  THE   UNITY   OF   MIND. 

to  an  equal  extent  homogeneous,  or  the  revelation 
would   be   incomprehensible.     The   Psalmist  says, 

"  O  praise  the  Lord  of  Heaven Praise 

Him  all  ye  angels  of  His :  praise  Him  all  His 
hosts."  The  Church  teaches  this  doctrine  in  the 
Te  Deum.  "  All  the  earth  doth  worship  Thee,  the 
Father  Everlasting."  ''  To  Thee  all  angels  cry 
aloud ;  the  heavens  and  all  the  powers  therein." 
"  To  Thee  Cherubim  and  Seraphim  continually  do 
ciy." 

The  Bible  and  the  Church  teach,  that  the  souls 
of  the  departed  have  the  same  employment.  The 
Psalmist  invokes  the  souls  of  the  righteous,  ''  Bless 
ye  tlie  Lord ;  praise  Him  and  magnify  Him  for 
ever."  And  the  Church  declares,  that  the  glorious 
company  of  the  Apostles,  the  goodly  fellowship  of 
the  prophets,  and  the  noble  army  of  the  martyrs, 
are  occupied  in  continually  praising  God. 

As  all  these  intellectual  beings  are  thus  repre- 
sented as  worshipping  God,  and  man  is  commanded 
to  join  with  them  in  an  universal  concert  of  praise, 
it  follows,  that  there  must  be  one  mind  in  all,  and 
that  like  man's,  since  he  can  and  does  obey  it  and 
join  in  it. 

But  the  strongest  argument  for  this  sublime  doc- 
trine of  the  unity  of  all  mind,  exists  in  the  fact,  that 
all  spiritual  beings  are  governed  by  laws  similar  to 
those  God  has  given  to  man.  It  is  a  law  of  the 
universe,  that  death  shall  follow  sin,  and  an  univer- 
sal law,  that  life  shall  be  the  reward  of  right- 
eousness. 

St.  Paul  says,  of  the  law  revealed  to  man,  it  is 


THE   UNITY   OF   MIND.  183 

holy  and  spiritual,  tlie  Sworcl  of  God's  Spirit.  It 
must  then  be  a  part  of  the  law  of  all  spiritual  worlds 
and  beings.  We  cannot  conceive  of  a  perfect  beiug 
with  two  kinds  of  rules  of  action.  In  the  portion 
man  has,  there  is  much  relating  to  him  as  a  physical 
being ;  this  enters  not  into  the  revelation  to  other 
worlds ;  and  they  doubtless  have  features  relating 
to  purely  spiritual  things  not  revealed  to  us.  But 
the  fundamentals  are  universal.  God  cannot  ap- 
pear nor  be  represented  to  the  inhabitants  of  any 
other  world  otherwise  than  as  He  is  to  man,  in 
respect  to  His  wisdom,  holiness,  and  love. 

It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  that  the  several 
parts  of  the  universe  comprise  one  general  whole, 
governed  by  one  moral  law,  and  that  their  several 
inhabitants  make  the  one  great  family  of  the  sons 
of  God,  destined  at  some  future  day  to  know  each 
other,  and  live  together  as  brethren.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  other  worlds  know  what  is  going  on  here 
now ;  and  not  only  are  things  of  this  earth  known 
in  heaven,  but  things  of  other  worlds  are  known 
here.  And  there  is  no  difhculty  in  believing  that 
they  know  much  more  of  us  than  we  do  of  them  ; 
and  that  they  take  a  deep  interest  in,  and  are  espe- 
cially occupied  with,  our  affairs.  We  are  only  part 
spirit,  and  fallen  beings,  yet  we  can  see  millions  of 
miles  into  space.  It  is  probable,  that  pure  spirits 
can  see  distant  spirits  with  more  distinctness  than 
we  do  worlds. 

The  thoughts  and  acts  of  men  reach  to  distant 
worlds ;  and  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  their  inhabi- 
tants influence  us.     Evil  angels  tempted  man  ;  and 


184  THE   UNITY   OF  MIND. 

tlie  seed  of  the  woman  bruised  tlie  serpent's  head. 
God  has  revealed  but  little  on  this  subject,  but  it  is 
enough  to  satisfy  us  of  a  most  intimate  connection. 
Angels  rejoice  over  the  thoughts,  and  watch  the 
struggles,  of  penitent  sinners,  and  devils  tremble  in 
their  presence.  And  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  which  took  away  the  curse  and  sting  of  death 
from  the  earth,  and  one  race  of  God's  great  family, 
and  caused  so  much  joy  in  this  world,  conferred 
blessings  on  heavenly  beings,  and  is  a  source  of 
wonder  and  adoration  to  them. 

Christianity  is  a  Divine  system,  introduced  into 
this  world  from  heaven.  It  is  an  auxiliary  to  the 
kingdom  of  grace;  established  on  earth  to  benefit 
its  inhabitants,  and  to  bring  them  into  union  with 
the  mother  kingdom.  The  Gospel  is  a  law  of  love 
and  holiness,  and  must  be  universal.  It  is  not  pro- 
bable that  God  loves  the  earth  more  than  any  other 
world  He  created.  Christ  said.  He  came  forth  from 
the  Father.  "  He  spoke  of  His  Kingdom  as  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  yet  as  one  in  which  they, 
the  oneanest  sons  of  earthy  could  dwells  the  secrets  of 
which  they  anight  imderstcmd^  the  jjower  of  which 
they  might  exert^  which  they  were  to  assure  their 
countrymen  was  at  hand,  the  gates  of  which  they 
would  ultimately  open  to  the  world. 

"  As  He  interpreted  to  them  the  nature  of  this 
kingdom,  they  more  and  more  felt  that  He  was 
drawing  them  from  a  world  which  they  looked  upon 
with  their  eyes,  into  an  unseen  world  which  another 
eye  that  He  was  oj)ening  must  take  in  ;  yet  a  world 
which  Avas  intimately  united  to  the  one  they  wei'e 


THE  UNITY   OF  MIND.  185 

walking  in,  which  gave  the  forms  of  that  world  a 
distinctness  they  never  had  before.  When  He 
wielded  the  j)owers  of  His  kingdom,  they  felt  more 
and  more  that  He  governed  the  secret  heart  of  na- 
ture and  of  man — that  spirits  were  subject  to  Him 
— that  through  them  He  was  acting  upon  bodies — 
that  all  His  influence  proceeded  from  within,  though 
at  last  they  left  the  clearest  marks  uj)on  that  which 
was  visible  outward."  * 

Such  is  the  nature  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth, 
among  men,  to  which  Christians  belong.  And  it  is 
evidently  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  a  great  invisi- 
ble, universal  government,  which  binds  the  mind 
of  every  sanctified  being  to  the  One  Great  Eternal 
Mind  of  God. 

On  earth  there  is  a  mutual  relation  and  depend- 
ence of  the  animals  on  one  another.  Their  lives 
and  actions  have  relation  not  only  to  the  happiness, 
but  the  very  existence  of  one  another.  All  the 
matter  of  the  universe  is  connected  by  the  invisible 
power  of  gravitation.  Why  should  not  all  the 
mind  be  by  a  similar  mysterious  power  of  attrac- 
tion? 

The  animals  on  earth  suffered  with  man  the  con- 
sequences of  the  fall ;  they  have  ever  since  felt  the 
ruinous  effects  which  sin  produced.  They  now  suf- 
fer daily  on  account  of  man's  sins.  God  cursed  the 
serpent,  because  he  tempted  Eve,  and  the  ground 
for  man's  sake  ;  and  all  its  inhabitants  feel  it.  The 
animals  have  to  toil  and  sweat,  with  man,  in  subdu- 

*  Maurice, 


186  THE   UNITY    OF   MIND. 

ing  the  thorns  and  briers ;  and  they  annoy  animals 
as  well  as  man. 

In  the  time  of  J^oah,  the  sins  of  man  brought 
destruction  on  the  earth  and  its  animals  ;  animals 
perished  in  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  the  de- 
traction of  Jerusalem.  In  all  wars  of  man,  horses 
perish.  At  the  deluge,  God  said,  "  I  will  destroy 
man,  whom  I  have  created,  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  both  man  and  beast,  and  creeping  thing,  and 
fowls  of  the  air."  This  is  Scriptural  evidence,  that 
inferior  creatures  suffered  in  consequence  of  the 
superior's  sins.  And  this  is  a  point  of  view  in  which 
we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  way  in  which  good  and 
evil  may  radiate  from  one  world  to  another,  and 
from  one  race  of  beings  to  another. 

Indeed  we  daily  see  in  this  world  examples  of 
the  consequences  of  man's  sins  being  felt  by  inferior 
animals  as  well  as  by  their  fellow-creatures.  The 
horse,  the  dog,  and  domestic  animals  belonging  to 
the  cruel,  or  improvident,  or  intemperate,  suffer  the 
penalty  of  his  sins.  Husbands,  wives,  children, 
relatives  and  servants,  suffer  in  a  similar  way. 

The  Bible  teaches,  that  the  power  and  influence 
of  spiritual  beings  of  other  worlds  are  felt  in  this. 
God  never  made  any  thing  evil.  The  divergency 
from  the  law  of  his  being  by  a  free  moral  and  in- 
tellectual agent,  brought  sin  into  heaven,  and  it  was 
exported  thence  to  the  earth.  The  angels  were 
tempted,  or  they  would  not  have  fallen.  Satan 
first  fell,  and  ruined  angels  and  men.  There  is  no 
man  living  who  is  not  daily  tempted  by  some  evil 
spirit ;  none  who  is  not  made  better  or  worse  by 


THE   UNITY   OF   MIND.  187 

his  trials,    and  is  not  radiating    his   influence  to 
others. 

Moses  does  not  say,  that  the  serpent,  who  tempt- 
ed Eve,  was  a  beast ;  but  that  he  was  "  more  subtle 
than  any  beast."  He  was  a  spirit,  vastly  above  the 
beasts,  and  man  himself.  But  because  he  did  this 
evil  to  man  he  was  cursed  above  all  the  beasts  of 
the  field ;  his  condition  was  made  worse  than  that 
of  the  beasts  who  perish. 

It  is  probable,  man  w^ould  not  liave  fallen,  hu- 
manly speaking,  unless  he  had  been  tempted  by  an 
evil  spirit  which  had  fallen  before  him.  Here  is 
plainly  seen  the  effects  of  acts  done  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  one  world  passing  over  and  exerting  tremen- 
dous and  everlasting  consequences  on  the  inhabit- 
ants of  three  worlds, — heaven,  earth,  and  hell,  to 
say  nothing  of  paradise.  The  acts  of  Christ,  who 
came  from  another  world  to  this,  produced,  and  are 
continuing  so  to  do,  more  important  efl'ects  on  those 
worlds.  The  doctrine  of  Christ  crucified  is  the 
power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  to  every  in- 
telligent creature  in  the  imiverse.  "  It  is  this  doc- 
trine that  gives  an  emphasis  to  all  thought — a  sub- 
lime import  to  all  life ; "  and  there  is  not  a  mind  in 
the  universe  that  does  not  know  it,  and  see  in  it 
what  man  sees,  the  boundless  love  of  the  Father ; 
and  receive  from  it  what  man  receives,  the  exalta- 
tion of  his  moral  nature. 

It  is  a  reasonable  inference  from  the  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel,  that  there  is  a  common  attraction  of  all 
mxind  as  well  as  the  matter  of  the  universe  ;  that 
the  one  God  who  created  all  minds,  inspired  all ; 


188  THE  UNITY   OF  MIND. 

that  the  life  of  every  intelligent  being  is  the  life  of 
God,  as  it  is  in  man  ;  that  an  invisible  law  of  con- 
nection binds  all  the  mind  of  the  universe  to  the 
great  central  nncreated  mind :  and  that  it  holds  as 
fully  throughout  the  highest  and  lowest  grades  of 
spiritual  beings  as  it  does  on  earth  among  the  vari- 
ous grades  of  intellect  of  the  various  races  of  men. 
We  speak  of  a  lost  soul ;  and  all  souls  are  doubtless 
lost  who  are  separated  from  this  union  with  God. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  bearing  on  this  question, 
and  indicating  the  universal  belief  of  mankind,  that 
all  nations,  Jews  and  Pagans,  in  the  East  and  West, 
imtil  comparatively  modern  times,  supposed  that 
their  kings  descended  from  the  gods.  The  Jewish 
idea  differed  from  the  Pagan,  inasmuch  as  they  be- 
lieved their  kings  w^ere  mortals,  but  specially  ap- 
pointed to  reign  by  God.  In  the  one  case  there  was 
a  linking  of  the  beings,  and  in  the  other  the  mind, 
of  the  universe  together. 

At  all  events  there  is  such  a  chain  of  connection 
on  earth.  The  interests  of  barbarous  nations  are 
affected  by  the  progress  of  the  civilized.  There* 
are  no  races  or  tribes  so  remote  or  so  degraded, 
that  they  have  not  felt  the  power  of  those  more  ad- 
vanced. The  call  for  slaves,  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
has  been  felt  to  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  and  the 
mysterious  sources  of  its  unexplored  rivers.  And 
-  the  barbarous  exert  an  influence  on  the  final  des- 
tiny of  the  whole  race. 

The  nice  adjustment  of  the  machinery  of  this 
world,  by  w^hich  each  individual  acts  on  his  neigh- 
bor, and  nations  in  like  manner  on  the  great  family 


THE  UNITY   OF  MIND.  189 

of  man,  is  but  one  visible  point  or  mesh  in  the 
great  network  of  creation,  which  binds  all  intelligent 
minds  into  an  universal  whole.  And  the  grand 
aggregate  makes  up  the  creation  of  the  Father  Ever- 
lasting. He  made  all  w^orlds  to  be  inhabited ;  in- 
spired all  their  inhabitants  with  one  mind;  the 
same  Divine  afflatus  He  breathed  into  man  ;  that 
they  might  jointly  and  severally  know  His  power 
and  wisdom,  and  adore  His  love  and  mercy. 

In  this  world,  men  of  the  highest  cultivation  and 
refinement  sacrifice  all  they  hold  dearest,  for  others 
who  are  degraded  and  ignorant.  They  devote  their 
whole  time  ;  leave  country,  home  and  friends  ;  ex- 
pose themselves  to  sickly  climates,  to  do  good  to 
races  of  men  who  difier  from  themselves  ;  and  others 
pour  out  their  money  liberally  to  elevate  men  they 
have  never  seen.  Can  it  be  that  men,  in  such  vol- 
untary, noble  acts,  are  superior  to  the  wiser  and  bet- 
ter angels  and  spirits  ?  Can  it  be  that  God  has  in- 
spired men  with  more  power  or  ability  to  do  good 
than  the  angels  ? 

If  there  be  such  a  law  of  attraction  and  benevo- 
lence among  fallen  beings,  surely  it  is  reasonable  to 
believe  the  law  belongs  to  our  minds  as  sons  of  God, 
and  that  it  is  felt  more  strongly  among  the  higher 
orders  who  inhabit  other  worlds.  It  flows  out  from 
the  great  Eternal  Mind,  whose  love  is  over  all  His 
works ;  who  is  continually  doing  good  to  the  un- 
thankful and  the  unkind.  It  exists  in  the  same 
measure  in  the  Son  of  God,  who  gave  Himself  to 
die  for  man,  while  he  was  yet  in  rebellion  and  sin. 
It  exists  in  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  who  is  the  In- 


190  THE   UNITY    OF   MIND. 

tercessor  for  sinners ;  who  yearns  over  this  ruined 
world,  with  groaning  which  cannot  be  uttered.  It 
exists  in  angels,  who  rejoice  in  heaven  over  one 
sinner  repenting  on  earth.  If  it  begins  in  God, 
and  reaches  down  through  all  the  spiritual  beings 
of  whom  man  knows  any  thing  to  himself,  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  conclude  that  it  reaches  to  every  moral 
being  that  lives,  and  moves,  and  j)roceeds  from 
Him. 

Indeed,  the  great  means  by  which  men  are 
trained  to  goodness  is  the  example  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  came  into  this  world  as  a  missionary  from 
heaven,  to  live  the  life  of  a  perfect  man,  of  a  celes- 
tial being,  without  sin,  to  teach  us  how  to  become 
perfect. 

This  supposition  is  made  more  conclusive  by  the 
fact,  that  the  Gospel  teaches,  that  man  has  no  power 
to  think  or  do  any  thing  good  of  himself :  that  it  is 
God's  Holy  Spirit  which  teaches  and  enlightens 
him.  That  must  be  the  Spirit  which  actuates  and 
governs  all  the  holy  intelligent  minds  of  the  uni- 
verse. He  is  said  to  be  the  "  One  Spirit "  which 
lives  in  the  wdiole  body  of  believers,  and  governs  all 
good  men.  And  as  it  is  the  things  of  God,  the 
Truth,  which  He  reveals  and  imparts  to  man,  it 
must  be  the  same  tridli  which  He  teaches  in  all 
worlds,  and  among  all  intelligent  beings. 

It  is  revealed  to  man  that  the  angels  do  God's 
will,  that  disobedience  is  unknown  among  the  pres- 
ent inhabitants  of  heaven.  A  part  of  their  history, 
their  fall,  and  expulsion  from  heaven,  is  made 
known  to  us  as  an  example  and  warning ;  and  this 


THE   UNITY    OF   MIND.  191 

history  exerts  an  influence  on  man  ;  it  teaches  Him 
the  uncompromising  justice  of  God,  the  certainty  of 
our  own  punishment  if  we  disobey  Him,  and  acts  as 
apower  on  the  JiinnoM  mind.  And  the  principle  is 
seen  constantly  at  work  on  the  narrow  sphere  of 
earthly  observation. 

History  has  been  defined  as  the  acts  of  great 
men.  It  is  the  history  of  the  past  which  enliglitens 
the  present  generation.  The  examples  of  great  and 
good  men  of  former  times,  have  lived  down,  and 
helped  to  mould  the  minds  of  their  successors ;  and 
millions  of  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds  may 
learn,  or  have  learned,  practical  lessons  of  wisdom, 
from  what  they  have  seen  or  heard  of  the  condition 
or  experience  of  fallen  men  and  angels. 

Man  and  his  world  are  but  one  link  in  a  chain 
of  "  boundless  causation,"  by  which  the  great  fami- 
lies of  intelligent  beings  are  united  to  God.  Man's 
history  is  one  chapter  in  the  history  of  God's  uni 
versal  empire.  The  whole  history  is  recorded  in 
the  works  of  the  Creator,  just  as  the  earth's  is  writ- 
ten on  its  rocky  foundations. 

Moreover,  it  is  specially  revealed  to  man,  that 
the  death  of  the  Son  of  God  was  beneficial  to  other 
worlds  than  his  own.  He  went  to  Paradise  and 
preached  there  ;  and  though  it  was  to  men,  it  was 
men  in  another  world,  and  in  a  diflerent  condition 
from  those  on  earth.  He  had  a  mission  to  them,  or 
He  would  not  have  preached.  St.  Paul  also  says, 
that  by  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  a  larger  measure  of 
"  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  "  was  made  known 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly  worlds.     In  the 


192  THE    UNITY    OF   MIND. 

English  version  it  reads,  places  ;  but  the  original  is 
eTTovpavLOLSy  or  heavens ;  and  it  is  a  miserable  nar- 
rowing of  the  Word  and  Works  of  God,  to  render 
it  any  thing  less  than  "  heavenly  worlds,"  or  "  sys- 
tems of  w^orlds." 

This  opinion  is  strengthened  by  another  revealed 
fact,  that  our  Saviour's  death  wrought  some  great 
deliverance  for  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  as  well  as 
of  earth.  The  angels  were  once  subject  to  tempta- 
tion, as  men  now  are,  and  some  of  them  fell,  as  man 
did.  But  St.  John  says,  the  power  of  the  devil  has 
ceased  in  heaven;  "  for  tlie  accuser  of  our  IjTethren 
is  cast  down,  which  accused  them  before  God  day 
and  night.  And  they  overcame  him  by  the  Blood 
of  the  Lamb."  And  a  part  of  the  Processional 
chant,  which  our  Lord's  discij)les  sang,  on  His  tri- 
umphal entry  to  Jerusalem,  was  "  Peace  in  Heaven." 
This  shows,  that  some  change  was  wrought  there 
by  our  Lord's  Advent  to  the  earth  ;  that  the  devil's 
power  was  destroyed,  and  for  ever;  because  in 
heaven  there  is  no  more  death  nor  sorrow,  and  the 
devil  has  lost  "  the  powxr  of  death  "  there. 

The  word  heaven  in  the  preceding  sentence  is 
singular.  This  may  denote  that  Satan's  power  was 
destroyed  only  in  that  one  world  of  the  heavens, 
where  God's  throne  is  ;  or  it  may  refer  to  the  w^hole 
universe  of  then  unfallen  beings.  God  is  gradually 
destroying  his  power  on  earth.  It  will  finally  cease 
every  where.  At  all  events,  it  shows  plainly  the 
radiation  of  an  efi*ective  moral  influence  from  one 
world  to  another. 

Christianity  is  a  revelation  to  man  of  the  great 


THE   UNITY   OF   MIND.  193 

law  of  love  which  fills  the  immensity  of  God,  and 
reaches  throiighont  the  universe.  Its  design  is  to 
bring  about  such  a  reign  of  peace  on  earth  as  there 
is  in  heaven.  And  it  would  speedily,  but  for  man's 
perversity.  If  he  would  perfectly  obey  it,  it  would 
make  him  like  all  the  other  holy  beings  in  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  only  the  deviation  from  this  law  that 
makes  earth  less  happy  than  heaven.  Christ  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  man.  They  are  the  realities 
of  better  beings,  in  a  better  world  than  this.  We 
are  taught  by  God's  Spirit  to  understand  them,  and 
to  know  that  we  ourselves  are  capable  of  infinite 
illumination  and  eternal  life. 

Christianity  offers  deliverance  to  captives  taken 
by  Satan ;  to  fallen  beings  restoration  to  God's  fa- 
vor. Ever  since  its  establishment  it  has  been  at 
work,  bringing  these  captives  into  the  glorious  liber- 
ty of  the  sons  of  God ;  trying  to  make  men  like 
angels,  and  earth  like  heaven.  "  As  a  matter  of 
history,"  says  Mr.  Taylor,  "  unquestionable  and  con- 
spicuous, Christianity  has,  in  every  age,  fed  the 
hungry,  clothed  the  naked,  redeemed  the  captive, 
and  visited  the  sick.  It  has  put  to  shame  the  atro- 
cities of  the  ancient  popular  amusements,  and  has 
annihilated  sanguinary  rites,  has  brought  slavery 
into  disesteem  and  disuse,  and  has  abolished  excru- 
ciating punishments ;  it  has  softened  the  atrocity  of 
war ;  and,  in  a  word,  is  seen  constantly  at  work, 
edging  away  oppression,  and  moviiig  on  toioards 
the  perfect  triumj^h  which  avowedly  it  meditates — ■ 
that  of  removing  from  the  earth  every  woe^  which 
9 


194:  THE    UNITY    OF   MIND. 

the  inconsicleration^  or  the  selfishness,  or  the  malig- 
nancy of  man  inflicts  \i])on  his  felloios.^'' 

Tims  its  grand  aim  and  increasing  tendency  are, 
to  bring  about  on  earth,  snch  a  state  of  things  as 
revelation  teaches  exists  among  the  inhabitants  of 
worlds  where  sin  is  unknown  ;  and  to  bring  into  a 
unity  of  operation  the  whole  mind  of  the  universe, 
in  subjection  to  the  law  of  God.  At  least  all  the 
minds  capable  of  making  progress  in  goodness  ;  all 
not  fallen  beyond  reach  of  redemption.  The  others 
are  probably  so  few  in  comparison  with  this  grand 
aggregate,  that  there  can  be  no  impropriety  in  say- 
ing, the  whole  intelligent  universe. 

"  It  is  certain  that  the  conditions  of  existence, 
not  less  than  its  matter  and  form  are  from  God  .  . 
...  As  in  Him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being,  so  also  is  it  He  who  worketh  in  us  to  will 
and  to  do  whatever  is  pleasing  to  Himself.  Whether 
we  take  the  safe  and  ready  method  of  acquiescing 
in  the  obvious  sense  of  a  multitude  of  scriptures,  or 
pursue  the  laborious  deductions  of  abstract  reason- 
ing, the  same  conclusion  is  attained,  that  in  the 
present  world,  and  in  every  other  where  virtue  and 
happiness  are  found,  they  are  the  emanations  of  the 
Divine  blessedness  and  purity." 

"  There  may  be  mind  without  matter,  but  there 
can  be  no  matter  without  mind,  neither  form,  nor 
color,  quality,  nor  quantity.  We  view  natural  pro- 
ductions as  the  immediate  result  of  influences  in 
active  operation  in  nature,  and  the  achievements  of 
men  in  the  arts  as  the  eflect  of  forces  on  inert  sub- 
stances ;  but  these  forces,  whether  organic  or  inor- 


THE   UNITY   OF   MIND.  195 

ganic,  are  valueless  as  motors  unless  subject  i 
another  kind  of  power — the  jpower  of  thought.  This, 
in  truth,  is  the  only  prime  mover.  From  it  all 
creation^  human  and  Divine^  proceeds,  and  hence 
the  material  every  lohere  refers  to  the  immaterial. 
It  is  thus  we  learn  not  only  that  knowledge  is 
power,  but  that  there  can  be  no  power — no  physical 
power — without  it ;  that  all  material  is  resolvable 
into  mental  forces  ;  that  worlds  were  made  for  the 
cultivation  of  intellect ;  and  that  streams  of  knowl- 
edge circulating  through  them  flow  from  the  mind 
of  Him  whose  hands  formed  them  all."  ''^ 

The  unity  of  all  the  mind  of  the  universe,  then, 
may  be  fairly  inferred  from  both  creation  and  reve- 
lation. The  Bible  teaches,  that  man's  inmost 
thoughts  are  known  beyond  the  earth,  and  to  be- 
ings superior  to  himself.  Like  the  waves  which 
undulate  from  the  sun  to  the  end  of  its  system  of 
worlds ;  so  may  it  be,  probably  is  it,  in  an  inverse 
manner,  with  all  the  thought  of  the  universe.  It 
flows  back  to  the  original  source  of  mind,  and  every 
pulsation  throbs  throughout  the  universe. 

The  inferior  minds  do  not  know  the  operations 
of  the  superior  ;  yet  it  is  highly  probable  from  anal- 
ogy, without  the  teaching  of  revelation,  which  ex- 
pressly says  it  is  so,  that  the  superior  knows  all  the 
thoughts  of  the  inferior.  Man  reads  many  of  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  his  fellow-men,  from  the 
expression  of  the  eye  or  countenance  ;  he  can  read 
the  lower  animals  still  better.  Why  then  may  not 
spirits  know  all  the  thoughts  in  the  soul  of  man  ? 

*  Ewbank. 


196  THE   UNITY    OF   MINT). 

It  is  evident  from  revelation,  that  there  are  at 
least  four  different  spirits  interested  in  earthly  af- 
fairs. They  are  the  Divine,  the  angelic,  the  diabol- 
ical, and  the  hnman.  We  have  distinct  information 
of  their  respective  operations.  All  the  good  and 
evil  on  the  earth  is  intimately  connected  with  them. 
A  careful  study  of  the  way  in  which  the  human 
mind  developes  itself,  shows,  that  these  different 
spiritual  powers  are  constantly  at  work  influencing 
and  moulding  it.  'Now  if  such  a  state  of  things  ex- 
ist in  this  world,  whose  inhabitants  are  the  last  and 
lowest  created  intelligent  beings,  some  of  whom  are 
hereafter  to  occupy  places  above  the  good  angels, 
and  others  to  sink  below  fallen  spirits,  is  it  not  pro- 
bable, that  there  is  such  a  unity  of  mind,  as  is  here 
claimed,  throughout  the  universe  ? 


TEE   UNITY   OF   LABOE.  197 


CHAPTEK  IX. 


THE   UNITY   OF    LABOE. 


The  concluding  paragraph  of  the  last  chapter  pre- 
pares the  way  to  show  the  connection  between  mmd 
and  matter.  It  is  power,  which  is  neither  ;  but  a 
vital  energy  passing  from  the  one  and  connecting 
itself  with  the  other.  This  introduces  the  interest- 
ing subject  of  labor,  without  which  both  mind  and 
matter  are  comparatively  negative  properties. 

The  universe,  resolved  to  its  primary  elements, 
is  mind,  matter,  and  power.  The  mind  is  the  will 
of  God ;  the  matter,  the  creation  of  His  will ;  and  the 
power,  its  exercise  or  application.  A  machine  is 
no  part  of  the  mind  of  the  contriver ;  that  which 
keeps  it  in  motion  is  no  part  of  it.  It  is  neither 
mind  nor  matter,  and  is  here  called  power. 

By  unity  of  labor  is  meant,  that  the  ultimate 
end  of  all  useful  work  is  the  same — the  glory  of 
God.  There  is  another  unity  of  operation.  Labor 
began  with  God.  It  is  one  of  His  distinguishing 
characteristics  that  He  is  a  laborer.     All  the  mind 


198  THE   TNITY    OF   LABOK. 

and  matter  of  the  universe  are  His  work.  The  earth 
has  two  specimens  of  His  skill ;  the  kingdom  of 
nature  in  which  Ave  live,  and  the  kingdom  of  grace 
of  which  we  are  made  members.  The  spiritual 
kingdom  is  wrought  out  of  the  ])hvsical.  It  is 
"  created  anew,  with  great  sorrow,  framed  painful- 
ly," with  the  sweat  of  the  brow,  the  bloody  sweat, 
and  painful  death,  of  the  Son  of  God.  He  works, 
and  every  living  creature  He  has  made  works,  in 
some  way,  for  a  common  end,  to  govern,  improve, 
or  adorn  the  worlds.  Ordinarily,  the  moi*e  severe 
the  labor  the  more  precious  the  results.  This  seems 
to  hold  good  with  both  God  and  man.  The  effort 
to  discipline  and  perfect  our  moral  being  is  one 
daily,  life-long  struggle ;  and  he  who  strives  hardest 
attains  the  noblest  eternal  life  and  honors. 

God  created  all  things.  He  rej^resents  Himself 
to  us  as  a  Worker.  His  Only  Begotten  Son  worked 
while  on  earth  ;  and  felt  weariness,  while  going 
about  His  life-work  of  doing  good  to  others.  He 
was  not  ashamed  to  be  the  reputed  son  of  a  carpen- 
ter. God  rejoices  in  the  work  of  His  hands ;  and 
all  of  them  have  reference  to  the  good  of  His  crea- 
tures. This  is  a  2:)roof  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of 
God,  because  He  lived,  and  labored,  and  died,  for 
the  salvation  of  man,  and  the  good  of  the  universe. 

These  facts  open  a  sublime  field  of  thought ;  and 
show  that  there  is  a  unity  in  all  the  right  labor  of 
the  universe,  as  well  as  in  all  its  mind  and  matter ; 
in  fine,  that,  trace  the  Creator  as  we  may.  He  is 
every  where  the  same,  and  every  where  consistent 
with  Himself;  and  that  He  and  all  the  creatures 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOR.  199 

He  has  made,  wlien  tliey  are  fulfilling  the  law  of  their 
being,  are  working  not  more  for  themselves  than 
for  the  good  of  others. 

God  satisfies  the  desires  of  every  living  thing. 
Angels  work  for  God,  and  for  man;  and  man  him- 
self for  society,  for  his  family,  and  the  inferior  ani- 
mals. The  great  law  of  labor  seems  to  be,  the  good 
of  others.  Man  toils  for  his  children  ;  pays  taxes 
and  tithes  for  the  support  of  religion  and  govern- 
ment. He  readily  perils  life  to  preserve  either  of 
these  privileges.  The  farmer,  the  merchant,  the 
lawyer,  doctor,  priest,  and  mechanic,  work  for  others 
more  than  themselves ;  the  aggregate  of  their  life- 
work  is  often  of  more  benefit  to  others  than  them- 
selves. At  best,  they  come  in  for  only  a  small  share 
of  the  general  product  of  their  labor.  Even  many 
of  the  loAver  animals  are  subject  to  a  similar  law  ; 
the  horse,  the  ox,  and  the  bee,  with  numberless  other 
animals,  work  for  others  more  than  themselves. 

It  is  all  for  God.  He  ordained  it.  It  is  neces- 
sary for  the  general  support  and  happiness ;  the 
means  by  which  His  works  are  developed.  What 
would  be  the  value  of  gold,  silver,  iron,  copper, 
lead,  coal,  or  stone,  without  human  labor  ? 

It  is  a  law  of  benevolence.  Man's  true  wisdom 
and  happiness  are  found  in  knowing  and  obeying 
the  laws  of  God.  The  better  he  understands  this 
the  more  faithfully  he  will  work.  God  has  made  a 
positive  law,  exacting  labor  from  all  His  creatures, 
like  His  own,  for  the  good  of  others.  St.  Paul  says, 
he  must  "labor,  working  with  his  hands  the  thing 
which  is  good,  that  he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that 
needethy 


200  THE   UNITY   OF   LABOE. 

God  reckons  the  work  done  in  this  way  as  ren- 
dered to  Himself;  "  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me."  What  we  do  for  ourselves  is  for 
the  bod}^,  and  for  time  ;  that  which  is  done  for  others 
is  for  the  soul  and  for  eternity.  It  brings  health, 
wealth,  and  happiness  to  man ;  whether  it  be  of  the 
hands  or  the  head,  of  the  muscle  or  the  brain,  it  is  a 
blessing. 

Man  is  a  co-laborer  with  God.  He  created  him 
to  subdue  and  embellish  the  earth,  which  was  hand- 
ed over  to  his  lordship  in  a  comparatively  crude 
state.  The  cities,  temples,  and  monuments ;  the 
levelled  mountains  and  canalled  rivers,  are  man's 
work.  The  felled  forests,  drained  swamps,  dammed- 
out  seas,  and  cultivated  fields,  and  the  sail-whitened 
oceans,  are  the  result  of  his  labor. 

It  is  the  expense  of  mining  which  gives  value  to 
the  precious  metals,  as  much  as  their  scarceness. 
And  hoAv  dismal  the  earth  would  be,  if  all  man's 
works  were  suddenly  blotted  out  of  existence  ! 

The  earth  itself,  so  far  as  man  has  penetrated,  is 
made  up  of  or  mingled  with  the  remains  of  insects 
and  animals  who  lived  upon  it,  and  worked  its  ma- 
terial to  its  very  foundations,  before  man  was  crea- 
ted ;  and  which  served  the  economy  of  its  beauty, 
growth,  or  preparation  for  his  abode.  All  things 
are  linked  by  the  universal  chain  of  labor  to  God. 
The  unity  of  mind,  and  the  unity  of  matter,  prevail 
throughout  creation,  and  labor  is  their  connecting 
link. 

In  the  beginning  God  created  ;  and  ages  on  ages 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOE.  201 

after,  His  Only  Son  said :  "  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and  I  work."  By  hitherto  He  meant,  to 
that  time.  He  always  worked,  was  then  doing  so, 
"  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  me,  He  doeth  the 
Avorks."  Jesus  wrought  by  the  power  of  God,  an- 
gels minister  by  His  power,  and  man  works  by  a 
God-given  power.  It  is  God  every  where,  in  all 
things,  manifesting  His  wisdom  and  love. 

The  Infinite  Mind  works,  and  the  production  is 
matter.  He  breathes  into  material  forms,  and  they 
become  living  souls,  and  begin  to  work  also.  When 
creation  began  is  unknown  to  man.  That  it  was 
not  finished  at  once  is  certain,  because  the  Son  of 
man  was  as  much  a  new  creation  as  Adam.  "When 
the  earth  was  prepared  as  man's  abode,  a  specific 
time  was  employed,  six  of  God's  days.  It  is  prob- 
able, they  were  earthly  days,  measured  by  the  revo- 
lution of  the  planet  on  its  axis.  The  great  geological 
periods,  which  were  also  stages  of  preparation  for 
man,  were  long  before. 

Work  is  the  result  of  mind.  God,  the  Infinite 
Mind,  sets  the  example  of  working.  The  infinite 
and  changing  forms  of  matter,  and  its  sustension,  are 
by  the  power  of  the  Divine  will.  God  labors,  and 
He  has  created  nothing,  down  to  the  minutest  in- 
sect, which  has  not  appointed  life-work  to  do ;  all 
is  incessant  action,  which  man  calls  work.  There 
is  no  way  in  which  man  is  more  plainly  seen  to  be 
working  for  God  than  in  the  Christian  ministry.  A 
commission  is  given  by  Him  to  a  class  of  men,  to 
help  Him  regain  His  "  authority  over  a  rebellious 
race,  and  bring  it  back  to  the  honored  companion- 
9-  ' 


202  THE    UNITY    OF   LABOR. 

ship  to  the  elder  spirits  of  the  universe."  .  ..."  If 
eloquence  is  the  highest  expression  of  mind,  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  that  the  eloquence  of  Christianity 
transcends  every  other  form  of  persuasive  speech." 
This  is  moral  labor. 

There  is  no  mind  without  activity.  One  of  the 
designs  of  the  creation  of  intellectual  beings  was  to 
modify  matter.  Labor  does  this.  It  is  the  agent 
which  prints  mind  on  matter.  The  rarest  works  of 
art  are  the  results  of  minds  most  highly  endowed  by 
God  ;  and  a  wise  judgment  respecting  any  kind  of 
work  is  the  gift  of  God.  It  may  be  shown  in  dig- 
ging a  ditch,  or  throwing  up  an  embankment.  ISo 
labor  is  low  or  mean.  All  is  sacred,  because  or- 
dained by  God ;  because  He  works  ;  and  because 
all  work  is  for  Him.  If  He  were  to  suspend  His 
operations  for  one  moment,  the  systems  in  space 
would  rush  into  destruction. 

The  law  of  labor  is  not  the  curse  of  the  fall. 
It  was  before  that.  As  soon  as  Adam  was  created, 
God  gave  him  a  garden  to  tend.  In  paradise  tliere 
was  neither  anxiety  as  to  results,  nor  sweat  in  labor. 
It  was  grateful,  health  and  happiness  giving  em- 
ployment. There  is  doubtless  labor  in  other  worlds 
without  fatigue  or  sweat.  Out  of  paradise,  the 
ground  was  cursed  to  bear  thorns  and  briers.  Mor- 
tal sweat  is  drawn  in  subduing  these. 

The  law  of  labor  is  one  of  love  to  man.  It  is 
twofold ;  and  both  results  in  the  highest  good  to 
him.  He  must  work  for  his  body  and  for  his  soul ; 
and  for  the  bodies  and  souls  of  others,  if  he  will  ful- 
fil his  Creator's  law.     He  has  work  to  do  for  two 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOR.  203 

worlds,  the  material  and  sj^iritiial ;  so  God  has  pro- 
vided two  woi'kshops  for  him,  the  World  and  the 
Church.  And  it  is  remarkable,  and  shows  the  con- 
nection of  all  the  labor  as  well  as  of  the  mind  of  the 
earth  with  the  universe,  that  the  results  of  both 
kinds  of  work  are  not  confined  to  tliis  world.  They 
stretch  away  into  eternity,  and  are  to  influence  his 
destiny  for  ever. 

But  what  is  more  remarkable,  is  tlie  pains  which 
God  has  taken  to  record  in  His  Word,  His  approval 
of  acts  done  by  men  for  His  honor,  and  to  impress 
upon  the  minds  of  the  race  the  high  esteem  in  which 
He  holds  such  laborers.  He  says,  the  least  act 
done  to  one  of  Christ's  disciples  He  regards  as  done 
to  Himself.  There  is  nothing  which  man  craves 
more  than  to  do  some  deed,  or  accomplish  some 
labor,  which  shall  live  after  him  and  make  his  name 
innnortal.  God  teaches  ns,  that  there  is  no  way  of 
securing  this  immortality,  like  working  for  Him. 
The  names  of  the  founders  of  the  earliest  empires 
are  scarcely  known,  or  subjects  of  dispute  ;  and  no 
man  knows  the  exact  age  of  the  pyramids  ;  ancient 
cities,  books,  and  superb  works  of  art  have  perished. 
But  the  names  of  the  persons  who  built,  and  en- 
dowed, and  consecrated,  the  first  national  altar 
erected  on  earth  for  the  worship  of  God,  yet  live. 
God  himself  has  honored  them  by  j^reserving  their 
names,  and  the  oiFerings  which  each  one  made,  to 
the  minutest  particular,  for  three  tliousand  three 
hundred  years  to  this  very  day,  and  they  will  live 
on  to  the  end  of  time.  The  twelve  Princes  of 
Israel  did  this  work  for  God,  and  He  has  preserved 


204  THE   UNITY   OF   LAEOE. 

their  names,  tlie  names  of  the  tribes  over  which 
they  ruled,  and  their  fathers'  names  as  well  as 
their  offerings.  They  were  twelve  days  making 
their  offerings.  God  says:  "The  Princes  offered, 
for  dedicating  the  altar  in  the  day  that  it  was 
anointed,  even  the  Princes  offered  their  offering 
before  the  altar."  "Who  but  God  could  liave  pre- 
served this  particularity,  when  the  altar  has  been 
more  than  three  thousand  years  perished ;  and 
while  the  pyramids  yet  survive,  and  no  one  can 
tell  any  thing  about  them?  "And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  They  shall  offer  tlieir  offering,  each 
Prince  on  his  day,  for  the  dedicating  of  the  altar." 
These  are  their  names  : 

The  first  day  came,  ISTahshon,  the  son  of  Ammin- 
idab,  Prince  of  the  tribe  of  Judali. 

The  second  day  came,  Xethaneel,  the  son  of 
Zuar,  Prince  of  Issachar. 

The  third  day  came,  Eliab,  the  son  of  Helon, 
Prince  of  Zebulun. 

The  fourth  day  came,  Elizur,  the  son  of  She- 
deur.  Prince  of  Eeuben. 

The  fifth  day  came,  Shelumiel,  the  son  of  Zuri- 
shaddai.  Prince  of  Simeon. 

The  sixth  day  came,  Eliasaph,  the  son  of  Deuel, 
Prince  of  Gad. 

The  seventh  day  came,  Elishama,  the  son  of 
Ammihud,  Prince  of  Ephraim. 

The  eighth  day  came,  Gamaliel,  the  son  of  Pe- 
dahzur,  Prince  of  Manasseh. 

The  ninth  day  came,  Abidan,  the  son  of  Gideoni, 
Prince  of  Benjamin. 


THE   UNITY    OF   LABOK.  205 

The  tentli  day  came,  Ahiezer,  the  son  of  Ammi- 
shaddai.  Prince  of  Dan. 

The  eleventh  day  came,  Pagiel,  the  son  of 
Ocran,  Prince  of  Asher. 

The  twelfth  day  came,  Ahira,  the  soil  of  Enan, 
Prince  of  JSTaphtali. 

What  each  one  offered  may  be  seen  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  -book  of  E'umbers.  And 
this  is  something  more  than  a  fact  of  history.  It  is 
the  recorded  and  preserved  testimony  of  God's  ap- 
proval of  man's  works  ;  and  it  is  a  guarantee  for  all 
that  He  says  in  His  Word,  that  He  not  only  remem- 
bers them  for  all  thne^  but  will  also  reward  them 
for  all  eternity. 

The  wants  of  man's  body  urge  him  to  the  one 
kind  of  work  which  God  has  assigned  him;  the 
necessities  of  his  soul  impel  him  to  the  other.  God 
has  wisely  and  benevolently  portioned  out  both 
kinds  of  work,  and  the  wages,  and  instructed  him 
how  to  do  them. 

Of  the  labor  of  the  natural  world,  the  Psalmist 
says,  "  Man  goeth  forth  to  his  work  and  to  his  labor 
until  the  evening."  It  is  the  law  of  God  that  he 
shall  do  so,  or  be  miserable.  He  created  man  to 
embellish  the  earth.  And  the  ceaseless  toil  of  the 
majority  is  absolutely  necessary  to  supply  the  con- 
stantly recurring  demands  of  human  life.  Yet  there 
is  a  sedative  in  labor.  It  strengthens  and  ennobles 
the  workman.  The  face  browned  by  exposure  to 
the  air  and  sunlight,  and  the  limbs  made  strong  by 
muscular  exertion,  and  the  hand  hardened  by  toil, 
are  noble  in  the  Creator's  sio'ht.    "  But  not  more  so. 


206  THE   UNITY   OF   LABOK. 

and  judging  by  effects,  far  less  so,  than  the  pale 
visage  and  flaccid  skin  of  the  student."  -  The  indo- 
lent are  God's  abhori-ence.  Thev  fail  to  accomplish 
the  end  of  their  creation.  Idleness  is  rebellion 
against  His  law. 

The  true  dignity  of  labor  is  not  sufficiently  real- 
ized. It  is  essential  to  perfect  man.  It  is  physical 
discipline  which  reacts  on  the  soul,  and  was  merci- 
fully contrived  to  help  man  perfect  liis  moral  nature. 
He  who  learns  to  patiently  labor  at  a  round  of  daily 
duties,  in  obedience  to  his  Creator,  and  tries  to  use 
some  of  the  wages  of  his  work  for  His  glory  and  the 
good  of  his  fellow-men,  is  a  true  nobleman ;  noble 
in  the  esteem  of  angels,  and  all  holy  beings,  and  of 
God  Himself. 

Labor  is  a  lesson  taught  in  both  the  Word  and 
works  of  God.  In  all  the  Creator's  vast  dominions, 
so  far  as  they  come  within  human  observation,  no 
rest  or  idleness  is  found  ;  but  all  is  change  and  un- 
ceasing revolution.  The  glorious  sun  unw^earily 
scatters  its  vivifying  rays  ;  the  ocean  and  the  wind 
jointly  toil  to  purify  the  air,  and  without  their  un- 
remitting action  all  animal  and  vegetable  life  would 
cease.  The  plants  and  trees,  by  a  law  imposed  by 
God,  employ  their  functions  to  absorb  or  exhale  the 
moisture  and  the  gases  furnished  in  the  laboratory 
of  nature ;  while  there  is  not  a  rotting  leaf  in  the 
forest  which  does  not  contribute  its  mite  of  decom- 
pository  toil  to  generate  the  mysterious  forces  which 
keep  the  surface  of  the  earth  ever  young,  vigorous, 

*  Dr.  J.  H.  Alexander. 


THE    UNITY    OF    LABOK.  207 

and  powerful.  The  law  of  labor  is  impressed  on 
matter  as  well  as  mind ;  and  though  of  an  entirely- 
different  character,  and  "  wisely  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  thoughtful  operation  of  a  reflecting  be- 
ing," *  yet  it  shows  how  imperative  the  Creator  is  in 
requiring  every  thing  that  He  has  made  to  be  useful 
in  the  economy  of  nature.  And  lastly  man,  the 
lord  of  the  earth,  finds  one  of  the  laws  of  his  fallen 
and  mysterious  destin}^ :  ''  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face 
shalt  thou  eat  bread." 

It  was  not  always  so.  ^Vork  Avas  designed  as 
worship.  It  is  part  of  the  employment  of  heavenly 
beings.  Angels  and  spirits  do  God's  will,  and  assist 
in  His  works,  and  in  executing  the  laws  of  the  uni- 
verse, as  will  be  shown  by  and  by.  It  is  probable, 
that  all  labor  was  designed  to  be  pleasurable.  It 
certainly  was  so  to  man  until  the  fall,  and  even  now 
some  remnants  of  its  former  excellence  yet  cling  to 
it.  It  still  gives  vigor  to  mind  and  body;  still 
brings  honor  and  glory  to  the  worker.  It  is  yet  one 
of  man's  purest  pleasures. 

There  is  a  sedative  power  in  the  meanest  servi- 
tude, when  patiently  endured.  The  slave  is  usually 
happier  than  his  exacting  master.  Labor  strength- 
ens and  composes  the  whole  man.  As  by  it  forests 
and  swamps  are  converted  into  fertile  fields,  so  are 
the  moral  jungles  of  the  soul  purified  by  it.  There 
is  no  hope  for  man  in  time  or  eternity  without  it. 
He  must  lay  up  treasure  on  earth,  for  time ;  and  in 
heaven,  for  eternity.     The  idle  will  be  condemned 

*  Dr.  J.  H.  Alexander. 


208  THE   UNITY    OF   LABOR. 

at  last  with  the  unjust  steward,  who  hid  his  Lord's 
money. 

Labor  is  also  a  grand  conservator  of  human  life 
and  progress.  God's  plans  could  not  be  carried  out 
without  it.  If  labor,  in  the  single  branch  of  agri- 
culture, were  to  stop  for  two  years,  mankind  would 
perish  by  famine.  Without  it  man  would  sink  from 
civilization  to  barbarism.  It  is  a  notable  fact,  that 
the  life  of  the  thousand  millions  of  earth's  inhabit- 
ants is  sustained  by  human  labor.  It  is  inwoven 
into  eyerj  article  of  luxury  and  every  staple  of  life. 
And  he  who  has  never  tasted  products  of  his  own 
growing,  nor  smelled  the  fragrance  of  flowers  of  his 
own  training,  has  missed  the  purest  earthly  plea- 
sures a  loving  Father  has  provided  for  man.  It  is 
his  nature  to  love  his  own  offspring,  whether  of 
body,  hand,  or  mind. 

Labor  is  worship,  because  it  is  obedience  to  God. 
A  wise  monk  of  the  twelfth  century  had  a  favorite 
maxim,  "  laborare  est  orare,"  to  labor  is  to  pray. 
And  there  is  deep  significancy  in  the  saying.  He 
who  patiently  ploughs  and  sows,  in  hope  of  a  future 
harvest,  obeys  God,  trusts  in  God,  and  exercises 
faith,  the  noblest  faculty  of  his  soul.  He  has 
courage,  or  he  would  not  undertake  to  subdue  the 
rigorous  earth.  He  has  faith  in  God,  or  he  would 
not  risk  the  chances  of  sunshine  and  shower  to 
quicken  the  seed  ;  and  lie  has  ]3atience,  or  he  would 
not  continue  his  labor  until  the  slowly  growing  har- 
vests come.  It  requires  perseverance,  exercises 
hope,  and   he   who   rightly  works  may  be  said  to 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOK.  209 

pray.     It  is  worship,  because  all  obedience  to  God 
is  worship. 

There  is  sublimity  in  labor.  We  see  it  in  all 
God's  works;  and  in  a  lower  degree  in  man's,  in 
the  rattling  of  the  hissing,  rushing  locomotive ;  in 
the  majestic  riding  of  the  steamer  on  the  raging  sea ; 
and  in  the  impressive  domes  of  the  stupendous 
structures  he  rears. 

But  there  is  another  point  of  view  in  which 
man's  labor  is  more  sublime.  It  is,  that  it  is  con- 
nected witli  all  the  labor  in  the  universe.  It  is  at 
this  moment  the  agency  for  executing  plans,  which 
God  planned  before  man  or  the  earth  were  created. 
Steam  and  electricity,  two  mysterious  j)owers  of  na- 
ture, are  bringing  the  ends  of  the  earth  together. 
They  are  spreading  the  knowledge  of  the  everlasting 
Gospel.  They  are  making  the  nations  feel  the  tie  of 
brotherhood  from  a  common  Father.  They  are  hast- 
ening men  to  heaven  and  hell ;  and  are  preparing 
to  bring  about  the  destruction  of  the  material  globe 
on  which  man  lives,  the  day  when  Christ  will  return 
to  judge  the  world,  and  establish  his  universal  em- 
pire. The  Bible  says,  when  knowledge  shall  have 
run  to  and  fro,  and  the  Gospel  has  been  preached 
over  all  the  earth,  then  its  end  shall  come. 

There  is  a  current  opinion,  that  labor  is  dis- 
reputable. ]N"othing  can  be  more  erroneous.  That 
which  God  ordains,  and  sets  the  example  of  doing, 
cannot  be  dishonorable.  Some  of  the  sublimest. 
strains  of  poetry  in  the  world  are  those  which  de- 
scribe "  the  glorious  works,"  "  the  wonderful  works," 
and  "  the  terrible  works  "  of  God.     It  has  a  bearing 


210  THE    UNITY   OF   LABOE. 

on  the  universal  moral  government  in  another  way ; 
the  Church,  which  is  a  part  of  that  invisible  govern- 
ment, is  })reserved  and  perpetuated  from  age  to  age 
under  God,  by  human  effort.  Hence  it  is  evident, 
that  no  rightly  directed  labor  is  low,  in  His  estima- 
tion ;  and  that  He  knows  no  distinction  between 
muscle  or  brain,  head  or  hand. 

Man's  present  condition  is  no  test  of  the  estima- 
tion in  which  he  is  held  by  his  Maker.  He  who  fur- 
nishes the  means  to  help  another  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, will  come  in  for  his  full  share  of  the  promise,  to 
those  who  turn  many  to  righteousness.  The  money 
of  the  one  is  as  essential  as  the  eloquence  of  the 
other  to  the  success  of  the  Gospel.  Man's  present 
and  future  state  depends  on  the  work  he  does  in  this 
world  ;  the  present,  because  health  and  wealth  come 
from  industry  ;  the  future,  because  our  Lord  says, 
at  the  judgment,  every  man  shall  receive  according 
to  the  deeds  he  hath  done  in  the  body. 

It  is  evident,  that  men  are  incompetent  j  udges 
of  their  own  work.  Our  Lord's  words  respecting 
the  widow's  mite  show  this.  Some  heedless  act 
may  tell  on  the  destiny  of  millions  of  our  race. 
The  planting  of  an  acorn  results  in  the  building  of 
a  ship,  which  carries  civilization  and  Christianity 
from  one  quarter  of  the  globe  to  all  the  others.  This 
teaches  those  who  reap  the  most  honor  or  wealth, 
not  to  despise  the  less  successful :  that  they  are 
brethren  working  for  a  common  Father ;  and  that 
eternity  alone  will  show  whose  labor  is  most 
esteemed  by  Him. 

It  is  also  certain,  that  by  a  similar  law  the  acts 


THE    UNITY    OF    LABOR.  211 

of  one  world  reach  to  others.  The  fall  of  the  angels 
was  the  cause  of  the  fall  of  man.  The  acts  of  Christ, 
in  His  human  nature,  reach  to  heaven  and  hell.  He 
was  made  perfect  through  the  sufferings  He  endured 
in  doing  His  life-work.  The  trials  and  sufferings  of 
others  react  upon  us  here. 

Work  is  part  of  the  discipline,  and  one  of  the 
means,  hy  which  our  moral  nature  is  prej^ared  for 
the  companionship  of  higher  orders  of  beings.  All 
tliat  we  accumulate  on  earth  is  a  trast  from  God. 
It  must  be  given  up  at  death  ;  but  it  leaves  its  im- 
press on  our  character;  it  determines  how  much 
riches  we  shall  have  of  our  own  in  heaven  for  ever. 

He  is  a  true  nobleman,  who  patiently  discharges 
the  duties  of  the  station  in  which  God  has  placed 
him,  be  it  high  or  low  ;  and  lie  will  hereafter  be  a 
peer  among  a  higher  order  of  beings  than  man. 
And  he  who  faithfully  toils  in  the  dusty  workshops 
of  earth,  and  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow  does  his  daily 
labor,  will  be  called  to  nobler  employment  in  the 
world  to  come.  What  a  translation  it  will  be,  to  pass 
from  the  dust  and  sweat  of  earthly  occupation  to 
the  employment  of  a  redeemed  spirit  in  heavenly 
worlds !  How  the  contrast  must  enhance  the  rap- 
ture of  the  exaltation  !  Many  such  will  find  them- 
selves far  out-ranking,  in  the  celestial  hierarchy, 
those  whom  they  envied  in  this  world  for  their  opu- 
lence or  ease,  but  who  had  accomplished  less  than 
themselves,  in  proportion  to  their  means,  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  maji. 

No  earthly  occupation  either  elevates  or  de- 
grades man  ;  no  earthly  rank  or  station  gives  honor 


212  THE   TNITT   OF   LABOR. 

or  glory  in  God's  estimation.  He  is  no  respecter  of 
j^ersons.  But  it  is  the  fidelity  with  which  each  one 
does  his  worTa,^  that  determines  the  amount  of  eter- 
nal riches  he  is  to  receive  as  his  own  for  ever.  Tlie 
proud  and  indolent  have  nothing  to  expect  here- 
after. Humility  is  the  perfection  of  human  grace. 
God  incarnate,  in  an  earthly  stable,  is  the  sublime 
lesson  which  the  Son  of  God  gave  to  all  the  intelli- 
gent beings  of  the  universe.  Angels  came  down 
from  heaven  to  look  uj^on  it;  and  they  chanted 
songs  of  adoration,  over  the  plains  of  Bethlehem,  at 
this  mystery,  which  they  did  not  then  fully  under- 
stand. It  is  doubtless  an  error  to  suppose,  that  God 
esteems  one  kind  of  occupation  better  than  another ; 
and  a  greater  one  to  sup23ose,  that  He  approves  of 
those  who  do  not  ^vork  at  all. 

God's  own  work  is  the  only  true  and  perfect 
type.  It  is  holy  and  for  the  good  of  others.  He 
shows  as  much  in  finishing  the  inferior  animals, 
and  adapting  them  to  their  several  conditions,  as 
he  does  in  respect  to  man.  But  He  requires  more 
of  man,  because  lie  has  the  higher  trust  of  reason, 
and  an  immortal  soul.  To  him  therefore  He  says, 
"  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am ;  "  "  lay  not  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  on  earth  ;"  "labor  not  for  the  meat  which 
perisheth."  Work,  that  you  may  have  to  give  to 
him  who  needeth,  as  I  have  made  the  earth  for 
you.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  the  Infinite  Mind,  when 
His  works  fulfil  His  will ;  and  man's  happiness  is 
intimately  connected  with  his  labor. 

Matter  is  the  published  thoughts  of  \hQ  Creator. 
It  is  the  recorded  history  of  His   works.     Every 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOE.  213 

strata  of  tlie  earth  is  a  page  of  that  marvellous  his- 
tory. And  God  is  employing  His  children  of  men, 
to  complete  his  own  infinite  plans  respecting  the 
earth.  It  is  also  "  the  day-book  in  which  man's 
accounts  are  registered.  .  .  .  The  industry  of  an 
age  or  people  is  as  the  vegetable  and  animal  pro- 
ducts they  grow,  and  the  minerals  they  raise,  while 
their  position  in  the  scale  of  j^rogress  is  marked  by 
the  elaboration  tliey  give  to  those  substances,  and 
tlie  use  they  make  of  them." 

Thus  it  is  seen,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned, 
that  labor  is  one  of  the  essential  conditions  of  the 
"oery  existence  of  its  inhabitants,  and  of  their  de- 
velopment, progress,  haj)piness,  and  final  destiny. 
The  combined  labor  of  all  classes  contributes  to  the 
common  welfare.  As  in  the  members  of  the  body, 
"  the  eye  cannot  say  to  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of 
thee  ;  nor  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  I  have  no  need 
of  thee ; "  so  the  learned  cannot  say  to  the  igno- 
rant, nor  the  rich  to  the  poor,  "  I  have  no  need  of 
thee." 

The  planter  must  till  the  land,  to  grow  the  food 
for  the  general  support.  The  learned  must  labor  to 
acquire  and  diffuse  knowledge,  to  enlighten  the 
masses.  And  the  mechanic  and  laborer  are  equally 
important  agents,  in  helping  the  progress  of  society, 
and  the  civilization  of  the  world.  The  latter  invent 
and  build  the  wings,  and  wires,  and  engines,  on 
which  the  knowledge  flies,  and  by  means  of  which 
the  comforts  and  staples  of  life  are  brought  within 
reach  of  the  humblest  classes.  There  is  no  nobler 
earthly  occupation  than  to  execute  the  means  which 


214:  THE   UNITY   OF   LABOE. 

bring  the  staple  commodities  of  life  within  the  re- 
sources of  the  j)oor  ;  and  no  surer  or  speedier  way 
to  elevate  them.  It  is  like  God's  work,  who  opens 
His  hand,  and  satisfies  the  desire  of  every  living 
thing ;  indeed,  it  is  His  own  work  ;  He  adopts  it ; 
man  is  thereby  a  co-laborer  with  Him  and  fpr  Him  ; 
''  inasmuch,"  says  He,  "as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one 
of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  Me." 

All  the  living  creatures  on  earth  are  kept  alive 
by  some  kind  of  labor.  Every  race,  from  the  mi- 
nutest insect  up  to  man,  if  it  ceased  from  its  ap- 
pointed work,  would  soon  die.  Labor  is  a  cove- 
nanted condition  of  health  and  life  on  earth.  It  is 
God's  law  to  man,  and  down  to  the  minutest  insect, 
— do  your  appointed  work  or  you  shall  die.  It  is 
probably  a  law  of  all  worlds,  certainly  of  the  one 
where  the  angels  dwell.  They  are  all  ministering 
spirits,  doing  the  Creator's  will.  It  is  certain,  that 
good  and  bad  spirits  and  men  are  constantly  em- 
ployed in  works  peculiar  to  themselves  ;  and  it  is 
probable,  that  there  is  no  world  of  idlers  in  the  uni- 
verse. Man  rises  to  his  true  state  and  dignity,  just 
in  proportion  as  he  is  faithful  to  this  law ;  and  he 
glorifies  God  by  his  labor,  just  in  proportion  as  he 
devotes  its  product  to  the  good  of  others. 

The  work  thus  far  named  has  i-eference  mainly 
to  this  world  ;  another  kind  has  been  mentioned  re- 
lating to  the  soul  and  a  future  world.  The  Christian 
religion  takes  into  its  holy  kee]3ing  the  works  of 
man's  soul  and  body.  It  connnands  him  to  be 
occupied  with  both,  daily,  until  the  evening.     If  the 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOR.  215 

former  be  big  with  sncli  consequences,  of  how  much 
greater  must  the  latter  be,  having  relation  to  an 
eternal  life  ?  It  is  at  this  j)oint  we  catch  a  glimpse 
of  its  connection  with  all  the  labor  of  the  universe. 
Man's  spiritual  work  has  a  bearing  on  tlie  enlarge- 
ment of  God's  everlasting  kingdom  of  glory.  The 
work  which  saves  human  souls  will  swell  the  num- 
ber of  the  redeemed,  who  are  to  live  and  reign  with 
Christ  for  ever.  Xeglect  of  this  work  increases  the 
multitude  of  the  lost,  who  will  be  cast  into  hell  with 
the  devil  and  his  angels.  We  are  sons  of  God,  du- 
tiful, and  working  for  the  accomplishment  of  His 
eternal  purposes,  or  disobedient,  and  working 
against  them. 

Man  is  a  pilgrim  on  earth ;  he  has  here  no 
abiding  home.  The  wages  he  is  to  receive  for  his 
life-work  on  earth  is  a  home  of  eternal  happiness  or 
misery.  All  his  hand-work  will  j^erisli  witli,  or  not 
long  survive  him ;  hut  the  heart-work,  which  he 
does  for  the  soul,  is  imperishable.  It  is  done  for  a 
future  life,  and  he  can  take  it  along  with  him. 
And  his  acts  influence  the  eternal  destiny  of  others. 
It  is  in  this  view  of  man's  works,  reaching  onward 
to  eternity,  fixing  the  state  of  others  as  well  as  him- 
self, and  taking  hold  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Father 
Everlasting,  that  we  see  all  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  sublime  consequences  of  human  labor. 

Tlie  reciprocal  influence  of  man  on  man,  and 
nation  on  nation,  in  this  world,  is  doubtless  a  type 
of  a  universal  relation,  which  connects  the  labor 
of  one  world,  and  order  of  beings,  with  another 
throughout  the  universe.     There  is  a  grand  chain 


216  THE   UNITY    OF   LABOR. 

of  connection  in  all  tlie  labor,  as  well  as  in  all  the 
mind  and  matter  of  the  universe.  There  is  rest  in 
heaven,  rest  from  temptations,  from  sin,  and  from 
physical  suflering,  but  it  is  no  indolent  rest.  Day 
and  night  its  inhabitants  cease  not  in  praising  God. 
God  Himself  is  the  type  and  exemplar  of  all  labor. 

ISTeither  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds,  nor  their 
employments,  so  far  as  the  manipulation  of  matter 
is  concerned,  are  like  our  own.  But  all  labor  in  all 
worlds  has  reference  to  the  one  common  object,  the 
glory  of  God.  Like  man,  all  intelligent  beings  must 
derive  their  ideas  from  physical  things.  All  are 
created,  and  their  labor  must  correspond  to  their 
nature,  and  the  world  to  which  they  belong.  Such 
is  the  case  with  man. 

God  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  On  the 
latter  he  put  man,  a  race,  which  he  educates  by 
means  of  its  matter;  and  the  human  mind  can  con- 
ceive of  no  other  way  by  which  an  intelhgent  being 
can  be  educated.  "What  is  matter?  Who  can 
tell  ?  ]^o  finite  beings  can  say  what  its  nature  is. 
We  only  know  that  it  is  prolific  of  wonders.  It  is 
the  mirror  of  the  Creator's  beneficence,  the  a^ent 
of  His  providence  ;  the  visible,  tangible,  and  grand- 
est proof  of  His  existence.  The  study  of  it  exalts 
and  adorns  every  Christian  virtue.  It  expands  all 
minds,  and  as  they  expand  fills  them  to  overflowing 
with  the  sublimest  views  of  the  Author  of  the  uni- 
verse." 

If,  then,  we  judge  other  worlds  by  our  own,  it 
appears,  that  the  grand  design  of  the  creation  ot 
matter  was  to  furnish  a  medium  for  the  cultivation 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOK.  217 

of  minds ;  and  that  the  development  and  progress 
of  material  intelligent  beings  cannot  be  accom- 
plished without  it.  And  that  man,  in  doing  the 
work  assigned  him  on  earth,  for  body  and  sonl,  is 
using  a  Divine  instrumentality  to  work  himself  into 
a  clearer  knowledge  of  God,  and  a  fitness  to  take  a 
part  in  the  administration  of  the  government  of  the 
nniverse,  after  all  things  shall  have  been  prepared 
by  God,  for  a  universal  reign  of  righteousness 
throughout  His  vast  dominions. 

The  work  assigned  man  by  the  Creator  was  "  to 
tend  and  dress  "  the  o-arden  of  Eden.  It  doubtless 
w^as  connected  with  the  expansion  of  his  moral  na- 
ture ;  in  studying  God's  w^orks  then,  as  now,  he  was 
to  learn  of  Him.  After  the  fall,  the  penalty  of  sin 
fell  on  labor,  and  it  could  be  accomplished  only  by 
the  sweat  of  the  brow.  Adam  was  to  '^subdue  the 
earth.''''  The  phraseology  of  Moses  indicates  a 
marked  distinction  between  the  two  states  of  Adam, 
before  and  after  tlie  fall.  The  first,  was  that  of  lord 
and  proprietor  of  the  earth ;  the  last,  was  the  con- 
dition of  a  slave.  The  one  implies  dignity  and 
pleasure  ;  the  other,  labor  and  suffering. 

The  analogical  argument  is  this :  that  the  sepa- 
ration of  men  into  races  and  nations  on  earth,  helps 
the  development  of  art,  and  science,  and  civiliza- 
tion. The  nations  most  remote  from  the  great 
highways  of  trade  and  commerce  are  the  least 
elevated,  and  gradually  tend  towards  barbarism. 
It  has  been  asked  me,  in  reference  to  this  opinion, 
''  Yet  was  it  not  to  prevent  progress,  that  the  dis- 
persion took  place  at  Shinar  ?  " 
10 


218  THE   UNITY   OF   LABOE. 

We  think  not ;  but  to  prevent  concert  of  action, 
and  waste  of  energy,  on  a  senseless  labor.  So  long- 
as  tliey  had  bnt  one  language,  they  had  but  little 
sense.  The  study  of  language  consumes  time,  to  be 
sure ;  but  it  sharpens  the  intellect.  Man  must 
have  necessity  to  compel  him  to  labor.  This  is  one 
of  the  necessities  God  has  imposed  to  help  educate 
man.  Charles  the  Fifth  of  Germany  said,  "  A  man 
who  speaks  four  languages  is  equal  to  four  men.'' 
The  labor  is  beneficial  which  man  employs  in  the 
study  of  languages.  If  there  were  but  one  race  ot 
men  and  one  language,  there  would  be  vastly  less 
vaiiety  of  picturesqueness  among  the  nations,  less 
variety  in  the  surface  of  society,  and  in  art  and 
science,  and  little  or  no  progress.  The  breaking  up 
of  the  old  Eoman  empire  and  tongue  j)roduced  half 
a  dozen  new  dialects  and  nations,  each  one  superior 
to  the  original.  And  it  is  probably  for  a  similar 
reason,  fundamental  in  the  nature  of  mind  and  mat- 
ter, that  the  universe  is  parcelled  into  worlds  and 
systems  occupied  by  varieties  of  beings. 

When  the  highest  attainments  of  the  inhabitants 
of  each  grand  division  have  been  made,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  mind  by  labor  on  matter  can  be*  carried  no 
higher,  then,  all  will  be  gathered  into  a  spiritual 
kingdom,  and  matter  itself,  going  through  the  or- 
deal of  fire,  may  be  changed  into  a  higher  form,  and 
be  adapted  to  the  support  of  the  new  life  which  will 
be  given  to  all  the  orders,  races,  and  grades  of  in- 
telligent beings  in.  the  universe. 

Worlds  have  been  burned,  remnants  of  planets 
are  now  revolving  within  the  earth's  orbit,  and  the 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOR.  219 

earth  itself  bears  unmistakable  signs  of  having  been 
prepared  for  man  by  fire.  These  examples  may  be 
types  of  tlie  final  grand  conflagration,  described  by 
St.  Peter,  "  in  which  the  heavens  being  on  fire,  shall 
be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat ;  "  and  when  "  the  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  great  noise,  ....  and  the  earth  also, 
and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up." 
The  melting  of  the  elements  denotes  change^  not  de- 
struction. And  as  all  tilings  are  to  be  fused,  so  may 
they  come  forth  again  as  one  grand,  renovated, 
spiritual  whole  ;  a  universal  kingdom  prepared  for 
Christ,  wherein  will  dwell  only  righteousness.  It 
will  be  eternal,  and  all  its  inhabitants  immortal ; 
and  universal,  under  the  one  Head,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  is  named  ;  brethren  dwelling  together  in  unity 
in  the  home  of  the  Father  Everlasting.  . 

Hell  was  prepared  and  made  eternal  long  ago, 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  and  to  his  kingdom 
will  go  all  who  are  not  gathered  by  Christ. 

The  different  worlds,  if  there  are  any  others 
than  those  described  in  man's  revelation,  may  then 
be  united  as  one  universal  empire,  in  unity  and 
harmony  with  itself,  in  mind,  and  matter,  and  labor. 
And  as  material  substances  will  no  longer  be  neces- 
saiy  as  a  means  of  development  and  instruction, 
there  will  be  no  more  j)bysical  labor ;  but  the 
spiritual  progress  begun  by  man  on  earth,  will  be 
continued  and  perfected  among  beings  who  have 
always  been  employed  in  that  kind  of  culture. 
Here,  labor  improves  both  the  physical  and  Intel- 


220  THE    UNITY    OF   LABOK. 

lectual  man ;  there,  the  physical,  having  been 
changed  into  spiritual,  will  no  longer  need  the 
health-giving  exercise  of  manual  labor,  but  the 
whole  man  will  be  devoted  to  '^  the  cultivation  of 
thought,"  of  purely  intellectual  ideas,  w^hich  will 
proceed  independently  of  matter. 

This  view  of  the  subject  helps  to  explain  many 
things,  connected  with  the  destiny  of  man,  which 
otherwise  are  utterly  unaccountable.  But  if  man, 
by  his  earthly  labor,  is  preparing  himself  for  a 
higher  state  of  being,  and  if  his  human  nature  was 
created  to  act  a  j)art  in  the  economy  of  the  universe, 
then  the  trials  of  life,  and  its  severe  labor,  which 
perfect  his  spirit, — for  our  Blessed  Lord  was  made 
perfect  as  to  His  humanity  by  suffering, — find  a 
solution. 

And  then  the  death  of  gifted  men,  before  their 
work  seems  to  man  to  be  half  accomplished,  is  ex- 
plained. It  harmonizes  with  the  Gospel,  which 
teaches,  that  this  "  excellent  mechanism  of  mind 
and  matter,  which,  beyond  any  other  of  His  works, 
declares  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  and  which,  un- 
der His  guidance,  is  now  passing  the  season  of  its 
first  preparation,  shall  stand  up  anew  from  the  dust 
of  dissolution,  and  then,  with  freshened  powers^  and 
with  a  store  of  hard-earned  practical  wisdom  for  its 
guidance^  shall  essay  new  labors — we  say  not  per- 
plexities and  perils, — in  the  service  of  God,  who  by 
such  instruments  chooses  to  accomplish  His  designs 
of  beneficence." 

"  The  burning  pen  of  inspiration,"  says  Edward 
Everett,  "  ranging  heaven  and  earth  for  a  similitude, 


THE   UNITY   OF   LABOR.  221 

to  convey  to  our  poor  minds  some  not  inadequate 
idea  of  tlie  mighty  doctrine  of  the  Eesurrection,  can 
find  no  symbol  so  expressive  as  '  bare  grain,  it  may 
chance  of  wheat  or  some  other  grain.'  To-day,  a 
senseless  plant ;  to-morrow,  it  is  human  bone  and 
muscle,  vein  and  artery,  sinew  and  nerve,  beating 
pulse,  heaving  lungs — toiling,  ah  !  sometimes  over- 
toiling brain.  Last  June,  it  sucked  from  the  cold 
breast  of  the  earth  the  watery  nourishment  of  its 
distending  sap-vessels  ;  now,  it  clothes  the  manly 
form  with  warm  cordial  flesh,  quivers  and  thrills 
with  the  five-fold  mystery  of  sense,  purveys  and 
ministers  to  the  higher  mystery  of  thouglit.  Heaped 
up  in  your  granaries  this  week,  the  next  it  will  strike 
in  the  stalwart  arm,  and  glow  in  the  blushing  cheek, 
and  flash  in  tlie  beaming  eye,  till  we  learn  at  last  to 
realize,  that  the  slender  stalk  which  we  have  seen 
bending  in  the  corn-field,  under  the  yellow  burden 
of  the  harvest,  is  indeed  the  staft'  of  life,  which, 
since  the  world  began,  has  supported  the  toiling 
and  struggling  myriads  of  humanity  on  the  niighty 
pilgrimage  of  being." 

All  this  is  a  type  of  something  wdiich  eye  hath 
not  seen,  ear  lieard,  neither  hath  it  entered  the 
heart  of  man  to  conceive.  But,  when  we  see  such 
mighty  consequences  attending  the  decay  and  j^i'o- 
duction  of  vegetable  and  animal  life  on  earth,  are 
we  not  fully  warranted  in  anticipating  sublimer 
results  from  the  labor  and  death  of  man  ?  Created 
in  the  likeness  of  God,  his  body  is  sowed  in  the 
ground  for  the  harvest  of  eternity.  ISio  great  good 
could  come  to  man  from  the  Advent  of  the  Son  of 


222  THE    UNITY    OF   LABOR. 

God  until  he  died.  It  was  His  Resurrection  which 
flooded  the  world  with  the  light  of  heaven.  Then 
opened  He  the  disciples'  ejes ;  then  brought  He  all 
things  to  their  minds ;  then  commissioned  He  them 
with  the  jDower  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  earth  is  sowed  with  millions  of  human  be- 
ings, who  have  been  worked  up  by  its  matter  into 
thinking,  living,  immortal  souls.  'Not  tliat  the  soul 
is  derived  from  matter;  but  it  is  sustained  in  the 
body,  while  its  powers  are  developed,  and  it  is  pre- 
l^ared  for  its  future  destiny.  Deathless  conse- 
quences flow  from  man's  mental  labor.  And  from 
this  sowing  there  will  spring  up  a  harvest  of  im- 
mortal spirits,  who  will  comprise  one  important 
division  of  the  consolidated  universal  empire  of  the 
Father  Everlasting. 

There  are  three  choirs  of  created  things,  all 
working  for  God,  and  praising  Him  by  their  labor ; 
the  heavenly,  the  material,  and  the  human.  All 
unitedly  and  incessantly  sing  "  Te  Deum  lauda- 
mus : "  all  are  now  part  of  one  vast  universal  em- 
pire, but  from  the  imperfection  of  human  observa- 
tion and  knowledge,  they  seem  otherwise.  It  will 
not  be  until  after  death,  when  our  intellectual 
powers  shall  be  enlarged,  when  we  "  shall  see  as 
we  are  seen"  by  God,  and  "  know  as  we  are  known" 
by  Him,  that  this  fact,  now  partially  revealed,  will 
be  fully  known. 

There  are  some  astonishing  analogies  between 
spiritual  and  physical  labor.  Take,  for  example, 
creation  and  redemption.  God  wrought  six  days 
in  preparing  the  earth  to  become  man's  abode ;  and 


THE    UNITY   OF   LABOE.  223 

six  days  of  a  thousand  years  were  allotted  him  to 
work  out  his  moral  and  spiritual  growth.  A  thou- 
sand years  are  said  to  be  with  God  as  one  day. 
The  six  days  of  preparation  were  a  tyjDe  of  the  six 
thousand  years  man  had  to  accomplish  his  destiny. 
At  about  the  end  of  this  period  there  will  be  another 
rest ;  rest  for  the  people  of  God.  All  things  have  a 
morning,  a  noon,  and  an  evening.  From  Adam  to 
Noah  was  the  morning  of  time  for  man's  labor ; 
from  ]^oah  to  Christ  was  its  noon  ;  and  from  Christ 
— until  the  trump  of  the  archangel  sounds — its 
evening,  end.  Each  of  these  periods  has  occupied 
about  two  thousand  years.  The  morning  was  short, 
the  noon  a  little  longer,  and  the  evening  is  linger- 
ing in  a  twilight  that  is  to  be  followed  by  no  dark- 
ness ;  but  which  prophecy  teaches,  shall  end  in  the 
dawn  of  a  day,  when  labor  and  time  shall  cease  on 
earth. 


224:      ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

By  angels  is  meant  spiritual  beings,  of  every  rank 
and  order,  superior  in  state  or  intelligence  to  man. 
The  word  signifies  messengers.  They  were  created 
to  form  a  court  for  our  Blessed  Lord,  to  be  His  at- 
tendants and  messengers,  and  do  His  will  through- 
out the  universe.  They  are  more  subtle  in  mate- 
rial, and  more  j)owerful  than  man :  "  excel  in 
strength,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "fulfil  His  command- 
ments, and  hearken  unto  the  voice  of  His  words." 

It  would  take  volumes  to  relate  all  the  wonders 
theologians  have  written  concerning  the  power, 
wisdom,  love,  and  employments  of  the  angels,  even 
respecting  the  acts  said  to  have  been  done  for  or 
against  man  and  the  earth. 

They  are  our  elder  brethren  in  the  great  family 
of  intelligent  beings.  Tliey  give  themselves  this 
title  more  than  once  in  the  'New  Testament ;  and 
declare,  that   they  have  "  the   testimony  of  Jesus 

and  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,"  which  is  the 

same  Everlasting  Gospel  He  proclaimed  to  man. 


Oif   THE   EMPLOYMENTS    OF   ANGELS.  225 

Thus  tliey  are  not  only  our  brethi*en  by  creation  by 
a  common  Father,  but  also  by  subordination  to  a 
common  law.  And  yet  more,  tlie  nature  we  are  to 
have  at  the  Resurrection  is  the  same  as  theirs. 
St.  Matthew  says,  we  shall  be  as  the  angels,  &>? 
ayyeXoL ;  but  St.  Luke  expresses  the  truth  more 
fully,  ladyyeXot,  not  equal  to,  but  like  the  angels. 
Both  terms  denote  swiilai'ity. 

There  is  an  old  tradition  of  the  Christian  church, 
that  all  matter  is  controlled  by  angels.  The  idea 
runs  through  all  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  from 
Justin  Martyr  to  Origen,  St.  Austin,  and  many 
others,  for  many  centuries.  Indeed,  it  is  older  than 
Christianity,  and  passed  over  from  Judaism  to  the 
Christian  Church.  David,  speaking  of  creation  and 
the  operations  of  nature  connected  with  it,  says, 
"  He  maketh  His  angels  spirits,  and  His  ministers  a 
flame  of  fire,"  as  though  He  had  created  and  sent 
them  forth  as  He  had  "  the  earthly  elements  to  ex- 
ecute His  several  missions." 

Some  later  doctors  taught,  "  that  the  angels  were 

the  fountains  of  all  motion That  there  is  no 

such  thing  as  contact,  but  that  all  particles  of  matter 
exist  in  a  subtle  ethereal  fluid,  or  something  of  the 
nature  of  a  fluid,  so  all  the  material  universe  is  per- 
meated by  a  subtle  stream  of  immaterial,  intellec- 
tual, personal  angelic  life,  ruling,  moving,  managing, 
administering  natural  laws  to  all  things,  so  that  God 
Himself  is  as  it  were  hidden  under  this  most  extra- 
ordinary veil  of  angelic  functions."  How  far  this 
theory  is  real  or  fanciful  is  of  no  consequence  to  our 
present  argument.  But  it  is  certain,  that  from  the 
10* 


226      ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

beginning  of  this  world,  since  man  was  created, 
they  have  taken  an  active  part  in  all  his  temporal 
and  spiritual  affairs. 

The  Old  Testament  speaks  of  them  as  glorious 
beings  of  great  power,  and  dazzling  brightness ;  as 
lighter  than  air,  and  swifter  than  the  wind,  and  as 
charioteers  of  the  Almighty.  Holding  the  near  re- 
lationship they  do  to  our  Lord,  it  is  no  wonder,  that 
they  are  deeply  interested  in  man,  for  whom  He 
died;  and  that  they  work  with  Him  for  our  salva- 
tion. They  certainly  have  special  offices  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  human  affairs,  under  the  great  gen- 
eral government  of  creation  ;  and  are  our  brethren 
under  the  Headship  of  our  Blessed  Lord.  It  is  not 
a  natural  Headship  o\er  them,  like  ours,  because 
He  took  not  the  nature  of  angels,  but  a  mystical 
one,  by  right  of  His  divine  nature.  They  have  by 
creation  the  nature  which  man  will  attain  after  he 
has  passed  the  ordeal  of  death  and  the  resurrection. 

Various  hierarchies  of  these  heavenly  beings  are 
mentioned  by  the  prophets  ;  and  their  employments, 
judging  from  what  is  revealed,  if  they  were  all 
known,  would  form  a  ''far  vaster,  more  various, 
and  more  beautiful  science,  than  the  natural  history 
of  the  various  kingdoms  of  this  material  world. 
Probably  it  would  disclose  to  us  many  Divine  per- 
fections of  which  we  now  do  not  suspect  the  exist- 
ence, because  we  neither  know  the  names  of  these 
perfections  nor  can  conceive  the  ideas  of  them.  So 
far  surpassing  mortal  glory  are  these  wonderful 
creatures,  as  we  may  conceive  that  early  angelic 
creation  would  surpass  this  later  and  indeed  modern 


ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.      227 

creation  of  man.  Daniel  the  i^ropliet,  hardened  as 
it  were  to  visions  from  their  number  and  their  bril- 
liance, and  St.  John,  whose  eagle-eye  was  learning 
to  see  clear  amid  the  dazzling  splendors  of  the 
Apocalypse,  both  alike,  when  they  beheld  an  angel, 
fell  down  and  worshipped  him,  as  if  the  light  of 
God  had  suddenly  broken  out  before  them,  and 
had  thrown  them  down  in  an  instantaneous  ecstasy 
of  adoration." 

Our  Blessed  Lord  is  the  Saviour  of  angels  as 
well  as  of  men,  but  not  in  the  same  way.  His 
sacrifice  was  beneficial  to  them.  They  were  once 
on  probation,  but  their  probation  has  ended.  By 
His  sacrifice  the  power  of  tlie  devil  was  destroyed 
in  heaven ;  so  that,  from  that  time  forth,  he  has  had 
no  power  to  tempt  them,  and  they  are  no  longer  in 
danger  of  falling.  Michael  and  his  angels  overcame 
him  by  "  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb,"  cast  him  out,  and 
he  is  no  longer  the  false  accuser  of  liis  once  celes- 
tial companions. 

There  is  no  intimation  that  the  Licarnation  of 
the  Son  of  God  had  any  effect  on  fallen  spirits  ;  or, 
that  personal  benefits  flow  from  it  to  angels  as  to 
men.  The  angels,  like  man,  did  not  become  new 
creatures  in  Christ.  "  They  who  fell,  are  fallen  for 
all  eternity;  they  who  stand,  always  stood,  and 
shall  stand  for  ever.*  ....  All  those  angels,  of 
whatsoever  degrees,  were  created  by  the  Son  of  God, 
as  the  apostle  expressly  affirms.  But  they  were 
never  created,  by  a  new  creation,  '  unto  true  holi- 

*  Pearsou  on  the  Creed 


228      ON   THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

ness  and  righteousness,'  because  tliey  always  were 
truly  righteous  and  holy  ever  since  their  first  crea- 
tion." Jesus  was  manifested  to  destroy  the  works 
of  the  devil.  He  did  it  in  heaven,  probably  by  a 
sj)eedy  process,  in  the  one  pitched  battle  between 
Michael's  and  Satan's  forces ;  on  earth  he  is  grad- 
ually doing  it  by  his  own  appointed  means.  Here 
is  seen  the  benefit  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ's  human 
nature  extending  beyond  this  world  and  the  liuman 
race  ;  and  this  would  naturally  lead  us  to  expect 
that  the  employments  of  Plis  messengers,  the  holy 
angels,  w^ould  also  reach  beyond  their  own  proper 
dwelling-place,  or  w^orld.  There  is  an  old  Catholic 
tradition  that  "the  mightiest  saints  of  earth"  are 
destined  to  fill  the  places  of  the  fallen  angels.  But 
leaving  all  speculations,  let  us  proceed  to  examine 
wdiat  is  certainly  revealed  respecting  the  employ- 
ments of  the  good  angels. 

The  Bible  teaches,  that  moral  afiPairs  on  earth 
are  in  many  particulars  controlled  by  angels.  From 
the  beginning,  the  will  of  God,  in  relation  to  man, 
has  been  intrusted  to  the  ministry  of  angels.  They 
have  been  employed  in  all  the  great  events  of  the 
moral  government  on  earth.  After  the  fall  of  man 
they  were  stationed  as  sentinels  to  guard  the  gates 
of  Paradise  and  the  tree  of  life.  The  patriarchal 
dispensation  was  administered  by  angels.  The  law 
was  given  by  the  dispensation,  ek  Scarayaf:,  the  ap- 
pointment or  communication  made  through  them, 
or,  as  St.  Paul  says,  "  was  spoken  by  angels."  The 
Christian  dispensation  was  announced,  attended, 
and  assisted  in  its  establisliment  by  them ;  and  they 


ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.      229 

are  represented  as  for  ever  destined  to  minister  to 
those  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,  and  as  feeling 
the  deepest  interest  in  all  that  relates  to  human 
salvation. 

The  presence  of  invisible  spiritual  beings  all 
over  the  earth  is  the  popular  "  belief  of  all  nations  : 
the  feeling  which  every  one  has  in  solitary  places 
seems  to  be  an  instinctive  consciousness  of  their 
presence." 

The  Gospel  attributes  the  whole  spiritual  life 
and  conduct  of  man,  good  and  bad,  to  the  influence 
of  powerful  living  spirits.  They  instructed  tlie 
world  until  our  Lord's  Advent,  and  His  Incarnate 
Life  made  the  earth  the  scene  of  constant  angelic 
presence.  Processional  throngs  poured  down  from 
heaven  to  attend  His  birth ;  they  were  seen  by 
men^  hanging  in  rapt  wonder,  and  heard  chanting 
heavenly  songs  over  the  plains  of  Bethlehem. 
They  watched  over  His  infancy ;  delivered  Him 
from  Herod ;  advised  Him  when  to  return  from 
Egypt ;  strengthened  Him  after  His  temj^tation ; 
witnessed  His  Transfiguration ;  sustained  Him  in 
His  agony  in  the  Garden  and  on  the  Cross ;  were 
present  at  his  Resurrection  ;  and  when  He  ascended 
to  heaven,  met  Him  in  the  clouds  to  escort  Him  in 
triumph  back.  Some  of  that  holy  throng  descended 
to  the  earth,  told  His  Apostles  that  He  had  gone  to 
heaven ;  and  that  He  would  return  once  more,  to 
judge  the  earth,  as  they  had  seen  Him  go  on  the 
clouds  of  heaven.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  a  portion  of 
the  predictions  of  the  E"ew  Testament  is  from  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  which  God  has  intrusted  to  our 


230      ON   THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

elder  brethren,  tlie  angels.  Since  then,  and  the 
Advent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  has  been  no  neces- 
sity for  their  visible  presence.  The  Blessed  Spirit 
of  God  is  now  the  Enlightener  and  Comforter  of 
man.  There  is  no  necessity  for  visible  angelic 
ministrations,  because  He  is  sufficient  for  all  things ; 
yet  the  Saviour  Himself  taught  that  they  would 
continue,  as  subordinate  agents,  ministering  to  the 
salvation  of  the  souls  of  men,  until  the  day  when 
He  should  send  them  to  gather  the  quick  and  the 
dead  to  the  general  judgment. 

There  are  no  beings  in  any  world  not  subject 
to  God's  laws.  The  angels  are  the  messengers  who 
execute  His  lav/s.  And  it  is  probable,  from  what 
is  revealed  concerning  them,  that  they  are  employed 
in  carrying  on  the  moral  government,  under  one 
grand  universal  system,  of  which  man  and  his 
Avorld  form  but  a  minute  fractional  part.  The  body 
of  our  Blessed  Lord,  after  His  resurrection,  was  a 
type  of  what  awaits  the  whole  race.  It  was  with- 
out weight,  could  walk  on  the  water,  and  fly  on  the 
wind.  The  angels  have  that  same  nature,  and  pass 
to  and  from  this  world  on  the  air,  with  electrical 
speed.  And  it  is  a  reasonable  inference,  that  all 
worlds  inhabited  by  intelligent  beings,  are  governed 
by  God,  through  their  instrumentality ;  and,  that 
they  pass  from  one  world  and  system  to  another, 
with  the  same  ease  and  rapidity,  with  wdiich  they 
have  been  seen  by  man,  to  come  and  go  from  the 
earth. 

In  this  world,  all  spiritual  things  are  under  the 
direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     The  angels  are  sub- 


ON   THE   EMPLOYMENTS    OF   ANGELS.  231 

ordinate  agencies.  The  examples  of  tlieir  acts,  men- 
tioned in  the  Gospels,  having  relation  to  the  Chris- 
tian Chnrch,  are  so  various  and  important  as  to  lead 
to  a  reasonable  conclusion,  that  they  are  parts  of 
"  a  vast  system  of  which  these  are  but  the  casual 
intimations."  And  though  it  never  was  intended, 
that  the  human  mind,  in  its  present  state,  shoukl 
grasp  that  system,  yet,  the  study  of  what  is  revealed 
gives  a  more  enlarged  knowledge  of  God. 

There  is  a  more  intimate  connection  between 
mind  and  matter  than  most  persons  imagine.  It 
must  be  so,  if  the  mind  of  God  be  the  source  of  all 
intelligence ;  the  Life  of  God  the  fount  of  all  life  ; 
and  all  the  labor  of  the  universe  has  the  same  ulti- 
mate object.  Angels,  like  men,  are  co-laborers  with 
God.  Man's  work  is  to  save  his  soul,  help  save 
the  souls  of  his  fellow-men,  and  to  improve  the 
earth.  But  the  angels  are  secure  of  salvation,  and 
devote  all  their  time  to  helping  God  to  save  man, 
and  do  good  in  all  worlds.  It  is  probable,  that  it  is 
another  example  of  the  infinitude  of  the  Divine  be- 
nevolence, in  the  vast  work  of  Redemption,  that 
the  angels  were  rendered  impeccable  by  the  Blood 
of  Christ,  that  their  undisturbed  energies  might  be 
devoted  to  co-operating  with  him  in  making  it  more 
extensive.  They  take  an  active  part  in  all  human 
affairs;  and  it  was  an  ancient  and  long  current, 
though  erroneous  opinion,  that  they  intermarried 
with  the  daughters  of  men.  The  distinction  of  sex 
will  be  unknown  when  men  shall  be  like  the  angels  ; 
it  is,  therefore,  probably  unknown  among  them. 

From  Adam  to  Koah,  God  seems  to  have  directly 


232      ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

communicated  with  men,  and  personally  directed  tlie 
affairs  of  the  earth ;  notwithstanding,  the  ministry 
of  angels  was  then  employed.  So  also  under  the 
Jewish  dispensation,  Jesus  was  the  Angel  of  the 
Covenant,  yet  other  angels  assisted.  It  is  therefore 
reasonable  to  believe,  that  while  the  Church  is  now 
visibly  directed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  still  minis- 
ter as  they  always  have  done.  Indeed,  reasonable 
or  not,  our  Lord  signifies  that  it  is  so  ;  and  an  Apos 
tie  expressly  declares,  that  they  are  "  all  minister- 
ing spirits^  sent  forth  to  ininister  for  them  who 
shall  he  heirs  of  salvation P  It  was  not  until  the 
world  became  a  second  time  corrupt,  in  the  pos- 
terity of  IS'oah,  that  God  seems  to  have  withdrawn 
His  personal  communications,  and  committed  the 
moral  government  of  the  earth  more  especially  to 
angels. 

From  the  time  of  Abraham  to  our  Lord's  Ad- 
vent, they  took  a  large  and  active  part  in  human 
affairs.  All  intercourse  between  heaven  and  earth 
and  God  and  man,  was  carried  on  by  them,  until 
the  establishment  of  the  Theocracy.  Three  an- 
gels announced  to  Abram  the  birth  of  Isaac,  and 
another  stayed  his  hand  from  slaying  him ;  another 
guided  his  servant,  who  went  to  Mesopotamia  to 
take  a  wife  for  him  ;  another  warned  Lot  of  the  ap- 
proaching destruction  of  Sodom.  Moses  was  called 
by  an  angel  to  undertake  the  deliverance  of  the 
Israelites;  another  led  him  into  the  wilderness, 
where  he  established  the  Theocracy.  And  although 
it  is  said  Moses  "  knew  the  Lord  face  to  face,"  yet 
it  is  evident  from  the  tliirty-third  chapter  of  Exodus, 


ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.      233 

that  tills  is  figuratiye  language,  referring  to  tlie 
nearness  with  which  God  approached  him.  One 
announced  Samson  to  Manoah ;  another  saved 
Daniel  from  the  lions ;  others  Shadrach  and  his 
companions  from  the  fire.  Besides  these  are  innu- 
merable other  examples  of  their  employments  in 
individual  as  well  as  national  matters.  They  cer- 
tainly exercise  some  control  over  the  physical  as 
well  as  moral  world.  They  send  and  withhold  fire 
from  heaven,  as  is  instanced  in  the  example  of 
Sodom  and  the  Jewish  captives ;  they  have  de- 
stroyed armies  and  cities  by  pestilence  ;  and  the 
earthquake  which  rolled  away  the  great  stone  from 
the  door  of  our  Lord's  sepulchre,  St.  Matthew  says, 
was  caused  by  an  angel. 

We  know  almost  as  much  of  the  nature  of 
angels  as  of  men;  and  indeed  of  the  final  conse- 
quences of  their  employments  as  we  do  of  our  own. 
That  we  know  so  little  is  not  surprising,  when  the 
state  of  knowledge,  concerning  the  inhabitants  of  un- 
explored portions  of  our  own  planet  a  few  hundred 
years  ago  is  considered ;  and  when  one  reflects  on 
the  floods  of  light  which  modei*n  criticism  has 
poured  over  the  interpretation  of  Holy  Scripture. 

AVithin  a  comparatively  few  years,  nations  and 
tribes  have  been  discovered  on  earth  whose  exist- 
ence was  unknown  to  its  most  civilized  inhabitants. 
Within  a  few  centuries,  whole  inhabited  continents 
have  come  to  light  in  this  way.  And  our  ancestors, 
of  only  two  past  generations,  knew  comparatively 
nothing  of  their  own  physical  nature,  of  the  law  of 
their  bodies  or  minds,  and  their  intimate  relations 


234      ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

to  tlie  j^rodiicts  of  the  world  they  inhabit.  This  be- 
ing the  case,  and  when  we  reflect  how  much  has 
been  learned,  and  how  much  yet  remains  to  be  dis- 
covered, of  the  law  of  our  own  being,  it  is  not 
strange,  that  we  know  no  more  of  tlie  inlmbitants 
of  other  worlds. 

We  have  the  authority  of  our  Lord,  that  heaven 
is  the  home  of  the  angels  ;  and  the  Bible  intimates, 
that  they  are  employed  in  executing  the  Divine 
will  in  all  worlds  as  well  as  on  earth.  "The 
glimpses  of  the  supernal  world,  which  we  catch 
from  the  Scriptures,  have  in  them,  certainly,  quite 
as  much  of  the  character  of  history  as  of  poetry, 
and  impart  the  idea,  not  that  there  is  less  of  busi- 
ness in  heaven  than  on  earth,  but  more.  Unques- 
tionably, the  felicity  of  those  beings  of  a  higher 
order,  to  whose  agency  frequent  allusions  are  made 
by  the  inspired  writers,  is  not  incompatible  with  the 
assiduities  of  a  strenuous  ministry,  to  be  discharged, 
according  to  the  best  ability  of  each,  in  actual  and 
arduous  contention  with  formidable,  and  perhaps 
sometimes  successful,  opposition.  A  poetic  notion 
of  angelic  agency,  having  in  it  nothing  substantial, 
nothing  necessary,  nothing  difficult,  and  which  con- 
sists only  in  unreal  show  of  action  and  movement, 
and  in  which  the  result  would  be  precisely  the  same 
apart  from  the  accompaniment  of  a  swarm  of  but- 
terfly youths,  must  be  spurned  by  reason,  as  it  is 
unwarranted  by  Scripture.''  * 

From  the  court  of  Jehovah  the  angels  go  forth 

*  Taylor,  N.  H.  Com. 


ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.      235 

to  execute  His  will  throughout  the  universe.  They 
have  visibility,  personality,  and  employment,  like 
men ;  and  they  are  material,  being  only  a  little  su- 
perior to  man,  though  of  comparatively  no  density. 
One,  described  by  Daniel,  had  a  body  "like  the 
beryl,  and  his  face  as  the  appearance  of  lightning, 
and  his  eyes  as  lamps  of  fire,  and  his  arms  and  his 
feet  like  in  color  to  polished  brass,  and  the  voice  of 
his  words  like  the  voice  of  a  multitude."  This  one 
and  others  are  described  as  clothed  in  shining  white 
garments,  and  girt  with  a  golden  girdle.  One  of 
their  employments,  mentioned  in  the  Old  and  JS'ew 
Testaments,  is  to  bring  answers  to  the  prayers  of 
men.  Another  is  to  act  as  guardians  of  them."^ 
They  have  forms  similar  to  man,  and  can  talk  and 
sing  in  human  language. 

But  they  are  more  than  God's  messengers ;  they 
fight  His  battles  for  the  extirpation  of  moral  evils. 
There  have  been  wars  in  heaven  as  well  as  on 
earth,  and  they  have  fought  the  battles.  As  has 
been  already  said,  they  have  always  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  earthly  afi'airs ;  they  now  have,  and 
will  continue  to  do  so  imtil  they  wdnd  up  the  dis- 
pensation by  assembling  the  quick  and  the  dead  to 
the  general  judgment. 

They  have  always  been  ministers  of  vengeance, 
as  well  as  of  blessing,  on  earth.  They  have  dis- 
charged special  duties  to  both  individuals  and  na- 
tions.    St.  John,  in  his  last  writings,  nearly  seventy 

*  Ex.  xxxiiL  2;  Acts  xii.  11. 


236      ON  THE  EMPOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

years  after  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  represents  them 
as  still  active  in  doing  God's  will  on  earth. 

There  are  various  orders  and  hierarchies  of 
angels ;  and  seven  of  the  mightiest  are  represented 
as  God's  vicegerents,  standing  continually  in  His 
presence.  With  all  their  wisdom  and  purity,  God 
charges  them  with  folly  ;  they  feel  pride  and  anger, 
and  the  former  caused  their  fall.  They  were  once 
on  j)robation,  like  man,  because  some  of  them  have 
fallen.  The  highest  orders  of  which  man  knows 
any  thing  are  archangels,  cherubim  and  seraphim; 
of  these,  but  little  is  revealed.  The  archangels,  or 
chief  princes,  it  is  evident  from  St.  Jude,  are  of  the 
same  dignity.  The  latter  seem  to  have  authority  to 
regulate  the  affairs  of  nations,  and  to  help  inferior 
angels  in  matters  which  are  too  mighty  for  them.* 

Their  commission  is  not  temporary,  but  extends 
from  age  to  age,  and  from  nation  to  nation.  Daniel 
intimates  their  interference  in  the  affairs  of  Persia, 
Media,  and  Greece,  as  well  as  of  the  Jews.  And 
the  Bible  makes  known,  that  some  of  them  have 
frequently  visited  the  earth  ;  doing  works  of  love 
or  mercy  to  different  generations  of  men ;  while 
they  were  all  the  while  known  by  the  same  names. 
These  intervals  extended  through  more  than  a  thou- 
sand years. 

It  is  probable,  they  are  as  deeply  interested  and 
as  active  now  as  ever ;  probable,  because  St.  Paul 
says,  ''  Whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime, 
were  written  for  our  instruction."     The  archangel 

*  Dan.  X.  13. 


ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.      237 

Michael  attended  tlie  Israelites  in  tlieir  wanderings 
in  the  wilderness,  and,  after  the  death  of  Moses, 
disputed  with  the  devil  about  his  body."^  This  same 
person,  a  thousand  years  later,  appeared  to  Daniel, 
and  told  him  his  fastings  and  prayers  liad  made  him 
greatly  beloved  by  God,  and  worthy  to  be  the  recipi- 
ent of  some  of  His  secrets,  and  that  he  was  sent 
"to  receive  his  words,"  doubtless  the  prayers  he  was 
offering.  In  their  contests  on  earth,  they  use  no 
physical  force,  not  even  against  the  devil.  Michael 
said  to  Satan,  "  the  Lord  rebuke  thee." 

The  angel  Gabriel  told  Daniel,t  tliat  this 
Michael  would  have  some  sort  of  a  guardianship 
over  the  Christian  Churcli,  and  take  an  active  part 
in  its  closing  events,  and  the  general  Kesurrection. 
This  angel  Gabriel,  whose  place  is  in  the  presence 
of  God,:j:  has  been  several  times  seen  in  this  world 
by  human  beings,  and  at  long  intervals  apart.  One 
of  his  offices  is  to  deliver  and  interpret  prophecy. 
He  has  wings,  and  did  fly,  and  gave  strength  to 
Daniel,  when  he  was  about  to  faint  from  fear. 
More  than  five  hundred  years  after,  he  appeared  to 
Zacharias,  on  a  prophetical  mission,  to  show  him 
things  about  to  come  to  pass.  Six  months  later,  he 
was  sent  to  the  Blessed  Yirgin,  to  tell  her  she  had 
found  favor  with  God,  and  should  be  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  the  Highest. 

Thus  it  is  seen,  that  in  these  long  intervals  of 
five  hundred  and  a  thousand  years,  the  employment 
of  these  angelic  beings  had  not  changed.     Genera- 

*  Jude  9.  f  Dan.  xii.  1.  X  Luke  i.  19. 


238      ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

tioiis  of  men  had  passed  away,  but  tliey  continued 
still  tlie  messengers  and  ministers  of  God. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  something 
definite  of  the  number  of  these  elder-born  of  our 
brethren.  They  have  not  grown  up  from  a  small 
beginning,  like  the  human  race,  but  were  created 
in  the  full  maturity  of  strength  and  intellect  to 
enter  on  God's  immediate  service.  There  are  Scrip- 
tural intimations,  showing  that  they  are  very  nu- 
merous ;  though  nothing  special  is  revealed  on  the 
subject.  If  it  be  supposed  that  only  each  system  of 
the  universe  is  inhabited  by  one  order  of  angelic 
beings,  their  numbers  must  be  greater  than  the  hu- 
man mind  can  comprehend,  though  it  might  com- 
pute them.  Without  stopping  to  consider  the  fan- 
ciful traditions  and  opinions  of  theologians  respect- 
ing the  millions  of  species,  or  the  variety  of  choirs, 
of  these  heavenly  creatures,  there  is  enough  revealed 
to  satisfy  us,  that  the  universe  is  peopled  by  their 
glorious  hierarchies. 

The  ancient  prophets  knew  they  were  numerous. 
Jacob  calls  them  the  Lord's  host.  When  the  Sy- 
rians went  to  Dothan  to  arrest  Elisha,  his  servant 
w^as  in  despair,  because  they  had  encompassed  the 
city ;  he  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  open  the  young  man's 
eyes,  and  he  "  saw  the  mountain  full  of  horses  and 
chariots  of  fire  round  about  Elisha."  The  Psalmist 
speaks  of  them  as  innumerable  hosts.  Daniel  says, 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  minister  before 
God ;  and  He  is  called  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  from  the 
vast  numbers  of  living  creatures  which  belong  to 
His  universal  dominions.     Multitudes  of  the  hea- 


ON  THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.       239 

venly  hosts  descended  to  this  world  at  our  Blessed 
Lord's  advent.  When  the  officers  of  the  Jews  came 
to  arrest  Him,  the  evening  before  His  crucifixion, 
and  Peter  smote  a  servant  of  the  high-priest,  He 
commanded  him  to  put  up  the  sword,  saying,  if  He 
wanted  help,  He  could  pray  to  His  Father,  and  He 
would  presently  give  him  more  than  twelve  legions 
of  angels.  And  St.  Jude  says,  when  He  returns  to 
judgment.  He  will  be  attended  by  thousands  of 
thousands  of  angels. 

The  Bible  teaches  that  they  belong  to  the  same 
order  of  intelligent  beings  with  man,  are  only  a  little 
his  superior,  and  in  a  future  life  some  of  them  will 
be  inferior  to  some  of  tlie  saints.  There  is  one 
hierarchy  of  them  which  was  confined  to  a  single 
world  ;  others  have  power  to  visit  many  or  all 
worlds.  That  hierarchy  was  on  probation,  like  man ; 
and  while  it  had  power  to  pass  beyond  the  limits 
of  its  own  world  or  system,  was  bound  by  the  com- 
mand of  God  not  to  go,  as  Adam  was  restricted 
from  the  use  of  a  single  fruit,  and,  like  man,  it  dis- 
obeyed and  fell ;  but  unlike  man,  fell  beyond  the 
reach  of  redemption.  Some  of  their  employments 
are  similar  to  man. 

Man's  condition  is  a  mixed  one  of  matter  and 
spirit.  The  angels  are  all  spirits  ;  but  so  far  as 
man's  spiritual  nature  goes,  he  is  like  the  angels, 
created  a  little  lower.  They  have  bodies,  members, 
and  passions,  and  are  fallible.  Because  one  order 
left  its  own  habitation,  "  they  were  turned  out  of 
heaven,"  and  are  "  reserved  in  everlasting  chains 
under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great 


24:0  THE   EMPLOYMENTS    OF   ANGELS. 

day;"  after  wliicli  tliey  will  be  turned  into  hell 
with  wicked  men. 

The  fact  that  fallen  men  and  angels  are  to 
occupy  the  same  world  in  a  future  life ;  and  good 
angels  and  men  are  to  live  together  hereafter ;  and 
that  there  will  then  be  but  two  grand  divisions 
of  the  universe,  is  a  powerful  argument  for  the 
truth  this  book  is  attempting  to  show,  of  the  con- 
nections and  unity  of  the  entire  universe. 

The  revolting  angels  were  cast  into  hell ;  it  was 
prepared  for  them  of  old.  But  they  are  there  now 
only  temporarily  ;  at  the  judgment  they  will  come 
forth,  and  after  trial  and  condemnation,  will  be 
remanded  to  remain  eternally.  Here  is  the  shifting 
of  the  inhabitants  of  one  world  to  another.  And 
the  Bible  teaches,  that  men,  born  and  raised  on 
earth,  are  to  go  to  diiferent  worlds  ;  the  good,  to 
colonize  with  good  angels,  and  the  bad  with  evil 
spirits.  All  are  to  liave  a  local  habitation,  and  are 
alike  capable  of  suffering  or  enjoying. 

These  changes  are  doubtless  types,  of  many 
similar  ones,  which  have  taken  place  in  other 
worlds  in  a  past  eternity.  And  these  translations 
of  the  inhabitants  of  one  world  to  another,  and  the 
increase  of  races  as  on  earth,  show  the  necessity  for 
pluralities  of  worlds  and  systems  for  their  accom- 
modation. Men,  angels,  and  devils,  have  a  mixed 
employment  on  earth.  It  was  not  so  at  the  crea- 
tion. The  earth  was  made  for  man.  He  was  its 
lord  until  sin  disturbed  the  supremacy.  It  is  there- 
fore reasonable,  that  there  should  be  an  end  to  this 


THE   EMPLOYMENTS    OF   ANGELS.  241 

mixed  state  of  things  seen  on  earth ;  and  that  the 
good  and  bad  be  Unalljfor  ever  separated. 

As  angels  heralded  Christ's  advent,  and  were 
actively  employed  in  preparing  His  way,  and  min- 
istering to  Him  during  all  His  earthly  course,  so  is 
it  j^robable,  that  under  the  Gospel  Dispensation  they 
are  more  largely  employed  in  human  affairs  than  ever 
before.  It  is  a  special  interest  brought  about  through 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  Man,  to  whose  court  they  belong  ; 
and  who  sends  them  forth  to  rejoice  over  penitent 
sinners,  to  watch  innocence,  and  to  minister,  in  in- 
numerable and  unrevealed  ways,  to  those  who  shall 
be  heirs  of  salvation.  Our  blessed  Lord's  incarna- 
tion and  sufferings  are  said  to  have  been  a  spectacle 
to  angels.  He  was  seen  of  angels,  ministered  unto 
by  angels,  had  legions  ever  at  hand  to  execute  His 
will.  And  in  several  of  the  incidents  of  His  life, 
they  seem  to  have  been  so  closely  allied  to  Him, 
and  so  deeply  interested  in  His  acts,  as  to  feel,  and 
w^eep,  and  rejoice  with  Him,  in  the  labors  of  His 
sublime  mission. 

St.  John,  the  best  beloved  by  our  Lord  of  His 
apostles,  and  who  drank  deepest  of  the  Divine  mys- 
teries, and  in  the  last  days  of  his  life  had  communi- 
cations from  our  Lord  through  them,  gives  more 
light  upon  the  subject  of  their  emjiloyments,  than 
all  of  the  other  w^riters  of  the  New  Testament  to- 
gether. He  represents  an  angel,  as  telling  him  of  an 
intimate  union  existing  between  themselves  and 
men,  through  Christ  and  the  Church,  and  as  though 
it  ought  1?o  be  a  mutual  bond  of  sympathy.  When 
he  saw  the  vision  of  the  City  of  God,  he  fell  down 
11 


242         THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS. 

to  worship  the  angel  who  showed  it  to  him,  but  he 
said  nnto  him,  "  do  it  not :  for  I  am  thy  fellow-ser- 
vant, and  of  thy  brethren  tlie  prophets,  and  of  tliem 
which  keep  the  sayings  of  this  'book.''^  Tliis  shows 
that  the  Gospel  is  known,  and  is  a  rule  to  angels  as 
well  as  to  men. 

And  again,  when  an  angel  showed  him  the  mar- 
riage of  the  Lamb,  he  again  fell  at  his  feet  to  wor- 
ship, and  "  he  said  nnto  him,  see  thon  do  it  not :  I 
am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  that  have 
the  testimony  of  Jesus."  ^ 

Thus  the  Bible  intimates,  that  angels  and  their 
employments  have  relation  to  man  and  tlie  universe. 
As  there  is  a  boundless  chain  of  causation,  reaching 
through  all  worlds,  and  a  boundless  chain  of  con- 
nection running  through  all  minds,  so  also  is  there  a 
boundless  connection  in  the  employments  of  all  in- 
tellectual beings. 

The  events  transpiring  on  earth,  are  one  annal 
of  the  history  of  eternity.  The  human  race  has  been 
progressing  from  the  beginning.  The  interruptions 
by  the  decay  of  knowledge,  or  the  irruptions  of  bar- 
barians, have  been  but  the  resting-places,  where  the 
race  has  reposed  to  renew  its  energies,  and  start 
again  on  a  higher  career. 

Something  of  this  sort,  probably,  goes  on  in  all 
worlds.  All  nature  grows  in  this  way.  The  sap 
descends,  the  leaves  fall,  the  tree  rests,  until  spring 
returns  to  give  its  life  a  new  impulse  and  to  enlarge 
its  circumference.     It  is  probably  a  universal  law 

*  Rev.  xix. 


THE  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  ANGELS.       243 

of  the  increase  of  all  organized  living  tilings.  All 
created  mind  is  necessarily  progressive. 

From  tlie  day  when  God  declared  the  seed  of 
the  woman  should  work  some  mighty  inflnence  on 
the  destiny  of  man,  the  race  has  lived  in  a  contin- 
ual state  of  expectancy.  Something  nnseen  has  al- 
ways been  looming  np  in  the  fntnre.  It  is  so  in  tem- 
poral, as  well  as  spiritual  things.  We  live  for  oth- 
ers. Onr  hopes  and  anticipations  run  forward  and 
centre  in  our  children,  and  they  grow  np  looking 
forward  to  the  inheritance  of  the  possessions  of  their 
fathers.  So  men,  nnder  the  dispensation  of  angels, 
are  preparing  for  the  enjoyments  and  employments 
of  angels. 

Evidences  of  such  a  plan  are  apparent  throngh- 
ont  the  Gospel.  Our  present  condition  is  the  result 
of  the  past  actions  of  men  and  angels ;  all  the  af- 
fairs of  tliis  generation  are  blended  in  with  the  com- 
ing events  of  an  unseen  and  future  Avorld  ;  and  the 
analogies  of  the  present  life,  foreshadow  the  reali- 
ties of  the  future. 

The  whole  stream  of  Gospel  narrative  awakens 
"  a  strong  and  lively  sense,  not  merely  of  the  exist- 
ence of  angels,  but  of  their  presence  and  active  em- 
ployments in  the  Christian  church  :  as  if  the  Chris- 
tian Dispensation  were,  in  some  higher  and  more 
intimate  sense,  under  the  ministering  agency  of 
angels." 

The  model  j)rayer,  given  by  our  Blessed  Saviour 
to  man,  requires  all  to  pray,  that  the  Father's  wdll 
may  "  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  This 
shows  that  man  has  both  the  same  will  and  employ- 


24:4:  rilE   EMPLOYMENTS   OF   ANGELS. 

ments,  and  that  God  intends  by  His  law  to  make  them 
like  the  angels  ;  and  also  that  we  are  "  acting  a  part 
among  creatures  superior  to  ourselves,  and  higher 
and  better  in  their  nature  than  anj  thing  w^e  see." 

Both  angels  and  men  are  working  for  the  same 
object,  the  glory  of  God.  While  they  are  minister- 
ing on  earth  to  those  who  shall  be  heirs  to  salvation, 
men  are  joined  by  the  church  to  the  kingdom  of 
Glory  to  which  they  belong,  to  the  "  innumerable 
company  of  the  angels ;  "  and  all  the  while,  they, 
like  men,  desire  to  look  deeper  into  the  mysteries 
of  Redemption,  from  which  they,  as  well  as  our- 
selves, have  learned  new  lessons  of  the  Divine  love 
and  beneficence. 

From  all  of  which  it  is  evident,  that  their  inter- 
ests, hopes,  and  employments,  are  connected  with 
tlie  earth  as  well  as  the  worlds  or  systems  beyond 
it ;  and  that  the  former  and  its  inhabitants  form  but 
an  infinitesimal  part  of  a  grand  co7inected  universal 
whole. 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIKITS.  245 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

In  tlie  preceding  chapter  it  was  attempted  to  sliow, 
tliat  angels  and  good  spirits  are  not  only  inter- 
ested, but  also  take  part,  in  administering  the  af- 
fairs of  this  world ;  that  they  are  connected  Avith 
man  by  a  common  bond  of  love  in  Christ,  and  are 
his  guardians  and  assistants. 

A  closer  examination  of  man's  state  shows,  that 
another  order  of  beings,  called  evil  spirits,  are  no 
less  actively  employed  in  counteracting  the  good 
designs  of  the  holy  angels,  in  disturbing  the  moral 
government  on  earth,  and  the  affairs  of  men ;  and 
that  these  are  united  with  man  by  a  common  bond 
of  opposition  to  God. 

Heaven  and  hell  are  the  two  great  divergent 
points  to  which  all  creation  is  tending.  A  process 
of  good  and  evil  is  going  on,  in  this  world,  by  which 
spiritual  beings  are  gradually  working  out  God's  pur- 
poses. 

Mankind  has  been  gradually  growing  worse  and 
better,  stage  by  stage,  ever  since  the  fall.    One  class 


24:6  EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EYIL    SPIRITS. 

has  grown  into  a  clearer  knowledge  of  God,  and  the 
other  into  more  deliberate  hatred  of  Him.  Tlie  evil 
finished  one  stage  of  iniquity  at  the  deluge.  But  it 
had  grown  worse  at  our  Lord's  advent,  because  it 
crucified  Him.  It  is  worst  now,  because  after  all  the 
light  the  Gos23el  has  shed  on  the  world,  Christ,  and 
His  Churchy  and  Gospel  are  all  rejected  bj  the  ma- 
jority of  mankind. 

The  infidelity  of  ancient  Paganism,  arose  from 
ignorance  of  God.  But  in  modern  times,  God  the 
Creator  is  hated  and  rejected ;  refused  the  dominion 
of  His  own  works.  His  Revelation  is  set  at  nought, 
rejected,  and  despised.  Men  flatly  contradict  His 
teaching,  and  say,  if  He  sanctions  slavery,  even  to 
punish  His  own  enemies ;  or  allows  human  life  to 
be  taken,  which  He  Himself  created,  to  vindicate 
His  own  justice,  "downwitli  the  God  of  the  Bible.'' 

Here  is  anotlier  of  the  Creator's  examples  of 
hiding  Himself  in  His  own  works,  behind  the  exist- 
ence of  moral  evil  in  the  world.  It  prevails  every 
where,  among  all  races,  and  is  spread  like  a  dark, 
mysterious  veil,  over  the  earth.  It  is  permitted  suc- 
cessful antagonism  to  the  Divine  Will.  "  So  far  as 
sight  can  tell,  it  would  aj^pear  a  rivalry  on  more 
than  equal  terms.  How  disproj^ortioned  to  what  we 
actually  see  in  the  world  around  us,  are  God's  lofty 
and  exclusive  claims,  as  put  forward  in  His  revealed 
Word !  Yet  wdiat  are  the  chief,  the  most  wonder- 
ful, and  the  most  touching  manifestations  of  God, 
but  those  which  He  has  made  in  consequence  of 
this  very  permitted  Existence  of  evil  ?  The  beauti- 
ful ingenuities  of  Divine  love,  by  which  He  has  en- 


employ:ments  of  evil  spikits.  247 

abled  us  to  repair  the  fall,  the  abundance  of  sin  con- 
quered b  J  the  superabundance  of  grace,  the  manifold 
interferences  of  the  justice  and  the  mercy,  the  wis- 
dom and  the  power  of  God  which  are  involved  in 
the  whole  scheme  of  redemption, — these  are,  in  one 
sense,  the  results  of  the  existence  of  evil,  and  yet 
they  ai'e  the  very  things  by  which  we  know  God 
best,  and  for  which  we  love  Him  most.  What  hides 
Him  most  utterly  from  those  who  will  not  see  Him, 
reveals  Him  most  distinctly,  and  most  luminously, 
to  those  whose  hearts  are  seeking  Him.  The  whole 
doctrine  of  sin  is  at  once  a  concealment  and  a  reve- 
lation of  the  relations  between  God  and  man." 

The  employments  of  the  evil  spirits  will  work 
the  same  final  result  as  the  good  angels.  God  over- 
rules their  work  to  His  own  glory.  Without  their 
fall,  we  could  not  have  seen  so  deeply  into  the  in- 
finitude of  the  Divine  love  ;  and  their  example  and 
punishment  may  prevent  revolts  and  ruin  in  future 
ages,  among  the  free  intelligent  beings  of  systems 
of  the  universe. 

And  if  there  had  been  no  enemy  of  God  in  the 
universe,  He  would  not  have  made  such  displays 
of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  to  secure  His  crea- 
tures against  the  evil.  The  enmity  drew  out,  so  to 
speak,  the  Divine  love.  The  greater  the  power  of 
Satan's  bad  acts,  the  greater  the  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  love  which  counteracts  them.  The  dis- 
plays of  Redeeming  Love  to  fallen  beings,  in  op])0- 
sition  to  God,  is  the  highest  power  of  love. 

Man's  self-will  opened  the  door  to  the  admission 
of  evil  into  this  world,  darkened  his  understanding, 


248  EMPLOYMENTS   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

and  changed  liis  original  nature.  It  was  his  own 
vohmtaiy  act ;  he  might  have  resisted,  and  the  re- 
sistance would  have  strengthened  and  perfected  his 
moral  nature  ;  while  yielding  darkened  and  ruined 
it.  Knowing  this  he  voluntarily  disobeyed.  A  sin- 
gle act  of  man  let  the  malignant  power  of  evil  loose 
on  the  earth.  God  has  provided  a  remedy  for  it. 
St.  Paul  says,  "  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan 
under  your  feet  shortly." 

Indeed  hell  itself,  "  considered  simply  as  a  part  of 
creation,  is  a  very  beautiful  work.  It  shadows  forth 
the  unutterable  purity  of  the  Most  High.  It  speaks 
most  eloquent  things  of  the  splendor  of  His  Justice." 
Hell  is  only  a  world  of  creation,  "  from  which  the 
inexorable  majesty  of  God  withdraws  all  presence, 
save  and  except  the  necessities  of  His  immensity." 

Evil  spirits  are  the  fallen  angels,whom  God  cast  out 
of  heaven  into  the  regions  of  darkness.  It  is  a  world 
or  system  of  worlds  called  hell,  and  from  which  they 
roam  through  all  other  systems,  except  the  one  called 
heaven,  which  was  their  original  habitation.  After 
the  general  judgment  they  will  be  shut  up  in  hell  to 
go  no  more  forth  for  ever.  Certain  it  is,  that  as  soon 
as  man  was  created,  they  found  an  entrance  into 
this  world  and  spread  the  contaminating  moral  con- 
tagion of  Sin. 

From  what  is  linown  of  the  evil  spirits,  we  actu- 
ally learn  more  of  the  nature  of  angels,  than  from 
the  good  ones.  In  almost  every  thing,  they  are 
very  similar  to  man.  We  have  seen  that  the  good 
angels  have  many  things  in  common  with  ourselves, 
but  the  very  character  of  the  fallen  angels  seems 


EMPLOYIklENTS    OF   EVIL   SPIRITS.  249 

like  man's.  Thej  were  once  on  probation,  and  kept 
not  their  first  estate  ;  they  are  continnallj  plotting 
evil,  and  marring  the  Creator's  works.  Like  bad 
men  they  fear  God,  and  ti-emble  at  the  denuncia- 
tions of  His  word  ;  like  them,  they  also  know  that 
hell  is  to  be  their  final  abode.  When  our  Lord  was 
casting  one  out,  when  He  was  on  earth,  he  asked, 
"  art  Thou  come  hither  to  torment  us  before  our 
time  ? "  They  know  their  power  is  but  for  a  season  ; 
and  being  sure  of  their  final  doom,  this  one  asked, 
"  art  Thou  come,  ....  hefore  our  time  f  " 

Satan  first  disturbed  the  order  of  creation,  the 
unity  of  God's  works,  and  the  harmony  of  His  crea- 
tures. He  set  up  a  kingdom  of  Darkness  on  earth, 
and  exercises  a  Headship  over  it  for  evil,  as  our 
Blessed  Lord  does  over  the  kingdom  of  Light  for 
good.  It  is  in  antagonism  to  God ;  but  in  no  re- 
spect equal  to  Christ's.  "  It  is  an  external  Headship, 
causing  evil  in  angels  and  men,  not  by  an  interior 
influx,  like  the  communication  of  the  grace  of  Jesus, 
but  by  government,  administration,  malice,  example 
and  persuasion." 

Christian  men  are  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  God's  Spirit,  and  of  the  holy  angels,  and  they 
are  called  in  the  Bible,  "  Sons  of  God."  Sinners 
are  under  the  guidance  of  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of 
devils  and  destroyers,  and  evil  angels,  and  they  are 
called  by  Christ  Himself,  ''  children  of  the  devil." 
Evil  spirits  not  only  contend  with  men,  tempt  and 
try  to  draw  them  into  sin ;  but  they  also  strive 
against  the  good  angels  who  are  helping  them.  The 
archangel  Michael  contended  with  the  devil,  con- 
11* 


250  EMPLOY^IENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

cerning  the  body  of  Moses.  God  miraculously 
caused  its  withdrawal  from  the  people,  probably  lest 
the  Israelites  should  preserve  and  make  it  an  object 
of  worshiji.  Job  was  tried  by  the  devil.  It  is  also 
said,  that  lying  spirits  sometimes  spake  by  the  mouth 
of  the  prophets.  And  in  ancient  times,  demoniacal 
possession  of  human  beings  was  of  frequent  occur- 
rence. And  he  who  carefullv  considers  the  dias^nosis 
of  the  moral  condition  of  great  criminals  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  will  find  no  other  satisfactory  ex2:)lanation  of 
their  enormities.  Indeed,  the  whole  drift  of  Scrip- 
ture, from  Adam  to  Christ,  shows  'chat  the  prolific 
source  of  evil  on  earth  was  Satan's  power. 

The  most  eminent  instances  of  his  malignity  are 
those  revealed,  in  connection  with  the  earthly  Life 
of  the  Son  of  God.  During  the  time  of  the  Incar- 
nation, the  power  of  the  devil  was  more  remarhably 
dis23layed  on  earth,  than  ever  before  or  since.  It 
was  the  last  liope  the  devil  had,  to  regain  his  lost 
power ;  and  to  recover  himself  from  the  ruin  of  his 
mighty  fall.  He  caused  God's  own  people  to  unite 
with  himself  (our  Lord  says,  Satan  blinded  their 
eyes)  in  destroying,  as  both  parties  probably  thought 
they  would,  by  death,  the  eternal  power  of  His  Eter- 
nal Son.  When  "  the  chief  priest,  and  captains  of 
the  Temple,  and  the  elders  came  to  arrest  Him,  the 
evening  before  His  crucifixion.  He  said,  '  This  is 
your  hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness. ' "  Satan 
was  making  desjDerate  efiPorts  for  the  maintenance 
of  his  kingdom  ;  and  the  next  day  the  Son  of  God 
was  apparently  vanquished  by  him.  But  His  weak- 
ness was  the  devil's  overthrow  ;  He  died  to  destroy 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIEITS.  251 

the  devil,  who  has  the  power  of  death.  Well  iiiight 
St.  Paul  say,  "  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliiiests." 
The  devils  ceased  not  their  malignant  temptations, 
from  the  beginning  of  His  ministry,  nntil  when  hang- 
ing on  the  cross,  they  represented  or  made  Him  feel, 
that  the  Father  had  withdrawn  His  presence,  wliich 
extorted  the  agonizing  cry,  "  My  God,  "My  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? " 

St.  Paul  says,  Satan  has  ''  the  power  of  death  ^" 
to  what  extent,  or  how  limited  by  God,  he  does  not 
say.  It  is  intrusted  to  him,  with  other  powers,  as 
a  part  of  the  agency  by  which  earthly  affairs  are  ad- 
ministered. It  is  a  delegated  power,  in  entire  sub- 
ordination to  the  Divine  will.  It  is  essential  to  make 
this  portion  of  God's  dominions  a  world  of  probation, 
and  its  inhabitants  free  agents,  working  out  their 
own  salvation.  If  good  and  bad  spirits  and  men  are 
thus  intimately  connected  in  the  administration  of 
this  world's  commonest  affairs,  then  the  earth  must 
be  a  portion  of  a  grand  whole,  of  which  we  see  only 
a  small  part.  And  this  is  the  special  doctrine  of 
revelation.  St.  Paul  says,  "  For  now  we  see  through 
a  glass  darkly ;  but  then  face  to  face  :  now  I  hnow 
in  part  ^  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am 
known." 

The  Gospel  constantly  represents  the  devil  as  a 
real,  powerful,  spiritual  being  ;  and  this  often  in  the 
Saviour's  own  words.  It  is  a  truth,  the  knowledge 
of  which  He  brought  from  heaven,  and  which  was 
unknown  to  the  world  until  He  revealed  it.  It  re]3- 
resents  Beelzebub  as  the  chief  of  devils,  and  as  hav- 
ing a  court  of  legions  of  inferior  evil  spirits;  and  not 


252  EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIKITS. 

only  a  court,  but  also  "military  resources  :  him- 
self the  Prince  of  Devils :  under  him  principalities 
and  powers,  and  other  ranks  of  inferior  spirits ;  which 
have  different  degrees  of  strength.  "  And  St.  Peter, 
by  direction  of  the  Holy  Gliost,  delivered  this  warn- 
ing, to  be  handed  on  to  the  world's  end,  in  his  Gene- 
ral Epistle,  addressed  to  all  Christians,  "  Be  sober,  be 
vigilant,  because  your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roar- 
ing lion,  walketh  about  seeking  whom  he  may  de- 
vour." 

The  subject  of  demoniacal  possession,  as  set 
forth  in  the  Gospel,  has  always  been  perplexing  to 
man.  Those  wdio  measure  revelation  by  reason, 
doubt  its  reality,  or  regard  it  as  a  phase  of  insanity. 
But  it  is  plainly  revealed  in  the  Gospel,  and  there 
is,  really,  no  more  difficulty  in  this,  than  any  other 
of  its  doctrines.  It  represents  all  mankind  as  sub- 
ject to  good  and  bad  spirits,  and  cautions  men  to 
try  them. 

The  casting  out  of  devils  by  our  Lord,  is  so  often 
mentioned  by  the  Evangelists,  and  the  incidents  are 
described  with  such  particularity,  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  that  they  are  real  transactions.  Those  diseases 
and  possessions  were  the  result  of  the  real  power  of 
man's  great  enemy;  they  were  tlie  first  fruits  of  tor- 
ments, which  would  be  eternal,  without  the  help  of 
Christ.  The  devils,  when  cast  out,  knew  Christ, 
w^ere  fearful  in  His  presence,  were  under  His  con- 
trol; they  besought  Him  on  one  occasion,  to  allow 
them  to  go  in  a  particular  direction.  And  neither 
the  Gospels  nor  the  Epistles  give  any  intimation, 
that  they  would  ever  cease  their  malignant  oppo- 
sition to  Christianity. 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS.  253 

But  we  need  not  go  back  to  the  age  of  Christ 
for  evidence  of  the  presence  of  mysterious  evil 
influences  on  earth.  It  is  apparent  to  all,  that  suf- 
fering and  death  everj  where  abound,  and  that  men 
individually  are  continually  prone  to  evil ;  and  it  is 
certain,  that  God  is  not  their  author.  The  mystery 
of  human  trial  and  responsibility  is  one  of  the 
greatest  marvels  of  man's  marvellous  condition. 
Some  regard  it  as  a  riddle  never  intended  to  be 
solved,  and  let  it  pass  without  reflection.  This  is 
not  the  part  of  a  wise  man.  We  live  amid  evil; 
and  it  is  our  duty  to  calmly  examine  it ;  to  learn 
what  we  can  of  it ;  and  how  best  to  avoid  its  con- 
secpiences.  Tie  will  best  discharge  the  duties  of  life 
who  knows  most  of  what  God  has  revealed  of  its 
mysteries. 

Every  man  feels  a  bondage  to  an  invisible 
power  superior  to  himself,  which  drags  him  in 
directions  opposed  to  his  better  judgment.  Sin  is 
"  that  great  and  manifold  mystery  of  ill  whose  root 
no  man  hath  ever  found,  whose  goings  forth  were 
before  the  world  was  made,  whose  legions  are  un- 
seen, hovers  aronnd  with  a  terrible  strength,  and 
still  more  terrible  craft.  It  ever  hangs  upon  our 
skirts,  and  harasses  our  way  to  life;  it  besets  all 
our  paths,  and  lurks  beside  all  our  duties  ;  it  min- 
gles in  all  our  toils,  and  hides  in  our  secret  cham- 
ber, and  masks  itself  under  our  religion,  and  follows 
us  to  the  altar  of  God.  Through  all  this  we  have  to 
win  our  way  to  life.  '  We  wrestle  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,' — for  then  we  might  endure  it,  behold- 
ing our  enemy  and  grappling  with  him  face  to  face. 


254:  EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

— 'but  we  wrestle  against  principalities,  against 
powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  jylaces^  " 
The  discouragements,  doubts,  and  fears  we  encoun- 
ter in  doing  duty  are  all  the  work  of  the  devil.  The 
false  creeds  and  heathenism  on  the  earth,  held  by 
the  largest  portion  of  the  family  of  man,  are  the 
work  of  the  devil.  This  proves,  that  man  is  subject 
to  the  influence  of  bad  spirits  as  well  as  good  ones, 
who  do  not  belong  to  this  world,  and  that  he  and 
his  planet  are  part  of  a  larger  system,  and  that  he 
knows  comparatively  but  very  little  of  the  detail  of 
his  relationsliip  to  it. 

All  people  who  have  lived  on  earth  before  us, 
have  felt  the  same  sense  of  evil  connected  with 
their  condition.  The  history  of  the  Jews  shows, 
that  they  were  conscious  of  enemies  within  as  well 
as  without  themselves,  spiritual  as  well  as  mortal. 
Pagan  nations  had,  and  yet  have,  the  same  instinc- 
tive sense  of  the  influence  of  powerful  invisible 
spirits.  It  is  a  characteristic  of  our  race.  The 
civilized  and  uncivilized,  the  Christian  and  infidel, 
alike  have  it.  The  idea  of  a  powerful  good  and 
evil  spirit  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  theology. 

The  objector  to  tlie  theory  often  asks,  "  If  it  be 
so,  why  don't  God  destroy  the  devil  ?  Why  does 
He  allow  this  opposing  power  ?  " 

These  are  questions  to  which  He  has  given  no 
definite  answer.  But  it  is  certain,  that  He  is  at 
work  gradually  bringing  it  to  an  end,  in  His  own 
way.  And  even  man  can  see,  that  some  such  influ- 
ence is  necessary  to  give  value  to  the  acts,  or  the 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF    EVIL    SPIRITS.  255 

obedience  of  a  probationary  free  agent  like  him- 
self. 

God  teaclies,  that  He  did  not  create  these  spirits 
evil,  but  that  they  made  themselves  so.  He  made 
them  good,  and  they  revolted  from  their  state.  He 
teaches  us  also,  that  He  is  our  friend  ;  that  Satan  is 
His  enemy  as  well  as  ours ;  that  He  did  not  send 
him  to  tempt  or  destroy  us  ;  and  that  he  has  no 
power  to  draw  a  single  soul  to  himself,  unless  it 
voluntarihj  surrenders  to  his  power. 

Perhaps  Milton's  theory  is  as  satistactoiy  as  any 
human  conjecture  on  this  subject  can  be.  In  a  col- 
loquy between  the  angel  Gabriel  and  Satan,  he 
makes  the  latter  say  : 

"  I,  therefore,  alone,  first  nudertook 
To  wing  the  desolate  abyss,  and  spy 
This  new-created  world,  whereof  in  hell 
Fame  is  not  silent,  here  in  hope  to  find 
Better  abode,  and  my  affiicted  powers 
To  settle  here  on  earth." 

In  this  quotation  Milton  corroborates  the  opinion 
of  the  connections  of  the  universe,  and  that  the  affairs 
of  one  world  are  known  in  others.  And  he  goes  on 
to  say  that  this  Satan  did,  though  lie  hnew  that  even 
the  hope  of  possession  involved  another  fight  with 
Gabriel,  and  the  angelic  hosts  of  God,  who  had 
already  conquered  and  cast  him  out  of  heaven. 

God  probably  allows  Satan  and  his  angels,  as  he 
does  impenitent  men,  a  limited  time  to  do  evil; 
it  may  be  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity,  or 
to  show  that  they  will  not  repent.     Tlie  fact  is  an 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

argument  for  the  unity  of  all  worlds,  since  here  is 
an  order  of  intelligent  beings  and  world  influence 
reaching  to  the  earth,  and  exerting  an  evil  influence 
in  the  same  way,  that  wicked  men  and  nations  on 
earth,  influence  those  around  them.  This  power  is 
necessary  to  make  man's  condition  one  of  trial,  of 
free  agency,  and  responsibility. 

But  that  power  is  soon  to  end.  And  besides, 
this  man  has  no  cause  to  complain,  because  Satan 
has  no  power  over  him,  except  as  he  voluntarily 
surrenders  to  his  will ;  and  God's  Holy  Spirit  is  con- 
stantly watching  to  guard  him  against  temptations 
and  to  help  him  overcome  them. 

For  six  thousand  years  men  have  been  en- 
deavoring to  find  some  other  solution  for  the  evil 
in  the  world,  and  the  case  is  as  hopeless  now  as 
ever.  The  Bible  teaches,  that  man  is  engaged  in  a 
spiritual  warfare  with  a  vast  number  of  invisible 
evil  beings,  who  are  trying  to  withdraw  him  from 
his  allegiance  to  God,  and  his  best  interests,  and  to 
make  the  race  hate  one  another.  This  is  opposition 
to  God,  who  created  them  brethren,  and  commands 
them  to  love  as  such.  The  Apostolic  Epistles  warn 
us  against  the  machinations  of  Satan,  Avhom  they 
represent  as  a  powerful  spiritual  being,  "a  ruler  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world." 

Through  this  view  of  the  subject,  of  powerful 
spiritual  beings,  in  opposition  to  botli  God  and  our- 
selves, and  God  helping  us,  we  get  new  views  of  the 
Divine  goodness  and  love.  We  are  indebted  to  the 
Gospel  for  this  explanation  of  a  subject,  wliich 
caused  the  wisest  pagan  philosophers  so  much  dif- 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS.  257 

ficulty  in  trying  to  reconcile  ;  and  which  compelled 
some  of  them,  to  believe  that  there  is  a  good  and 
bad  Creator  struggling  together  in  the  nni  verse. 

The  Gospel  reconciles  all  this  ;  and  we  need  be 
no  more  surprised,  that  God  permits  bad  spirits  in 
the  universe,  who  oppose  His  will,  than  that  He 
sufiers  bad  men  to  do  the  same  thing  on  earth.  It 
is  a  temporary  evil,  w^hich  the  disobedience  of  free 
agents  has  caused,  beings  whom  He  created  to  be 
AND  TO  DO  GOOD,  and  which  He  provided  heforehand 
to  counteract,  and  which  will  be  shortly  remedied. 

Moral  evil  is  a  part  of  the  condition  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  as  we  know  nothing  of  it  as  a  whole,  we 
cannot  tell  why  it  is  permitted.  If  an  angel,  igno- 
rant of  human  aifairs,  should  come  into  this  world, 
and  learn  the  single  fact  that  there  are  men  shut  up 
in  granite,  grated  prisons  for  life,  in  dark  narrow 
limits,  and  fed  on  coarse  food,  he  might  naturally 
conclude  that  this  is  a  world  of  injustice  and  cruelty. 
But  after  he  learned  the  reasons  for  it,  he  would 
change  his  opinions  and  conclude  it  to  be  one  of 
order  and  justice  and  law.  So  doubtless  will  it  be 
with  man,  when  he  shall  understand  the  reasons  on 
which  the  Divine  justice  acts.  This  evil,  however, 
no  more  disturbs  the  general  harmony  of  the  uni- 
verse, than  the  occasional  violations  of  law  on  earth 
disturbs  the  order  of  a  good  government.  It  affects 
such  an  infinitesimal  fraction  of  the  whole,  that  when 
viewed  in  the  aggregate,  it  is  scarcely  discernible. 

If  it  be  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  ministry  of  holy 
angels  Avhicli  directs  the  general  affairs  of  the  earth, 
and  guides  men  to  the  truth, — and  the  Psalmist  says, 


258  EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

tliat  it  is  so,  even  to  scientific  truth, — then  also  would 
it  be  probable,  without  any  revelation,  that  it  must 
be  some  powerful  evil  spirit  who  causes  the  dis- 
turbance and  evil  on  earth. 

This  is  the  revealed  view  of  the  subject,  and 
human  life  thus  viewed  is  not  only  more  interest- 
ing, but  a  vastly  more  important  and  serious  mat- 
ter ;  while  the  hope  of  a  successful  contest  becomes 
infinitely  more  hopeful  for  each  one.  Christ  says, 
in  the  Gospel,  to  all  believers  in  Him,  "  greater  is 
He  who  is  in  you,  than  he  who  is  in  the  world." 
God's  Spirit  is  in  the  soul  of  each  regenerate  man, 
an  ever  vigilant  sentinel.  The  evil  spirits  come 
from  without,  and  can  never  find  a  resting-place 
unless  it  is  provided  by  man's  own  act.  This  is  the 
state  of  the  universe  into  which  man  is  born,  and  he 
has  really  no  more  cause  of  complaint  at  his  con- 
dition, than  at  the  murders,  arsons,  and  robberies, 
and  the  injustice  which  abounds  on  earth. 

The  whole  system  of  Christianity  is  based  on 
this  theory.  Opposition  to  a  kingdom  of  darkness, 
is  the  starting  point  in  the  Christian  life.  Because 
man  is  fallen  from  an  original  condition  of  purity, 
he  is  born  into  the  kino-dom  of  Satan.     Christ  has 

o 

established  another  kingdom  on  earth,  called  the 
"  kingdom  of  God."  The  child  in  baj)tism  is  re- 
quired to  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works;  and 
the  sponsors  promise  tliat  he  shall  not  follow  nor  be 
led  by  them. 

This  is  an  admission  of  the  doctrine  of  the  pow- 
erful influence  of  an  unseen  spiritual  being,  who  is 
man's  great  enemy.     The  Church  acts  throughou 


EMPLOYMENTS   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS.  259 

on  this  supposition ;  and  that  she  believes  the  Sacra- 
ments and  Confirmation,  through  the  merits  and 
sacrifice  of  Christ,  are  Divine  helps  to  secure  us 
against  it.  The  Jews  believed  in  demoniacal  pos- 
sessions. They  said  of  Christ,  that  He  cast  out 
devils  by  Beelzebub,  and  that  He  was  in  league 
with  Satan,  because  He  wi-ought  other  miracles. 
This  shows  their  idea  of  Him,  that  He  was  a  power- 
ful spirit. 

Our  Lord  proved  in  many  ways  tlie  actual 
inhabitancy  of  personal  evil  spirits  in  man.  He 
cast  seven  out  of  the  Magdelene ;  and  this  was  the 
annunciation  of  the  fact  of  their  actual  possession, 
such  as  the  Jews  did  not  have.  Christ  then  re- 
vealed this  great  mystery :  then  plainly  showed  the 
actual  intimacy  and  intercourse  of  the  evil  spirit 
world  with  this,  in  such  clear  and  unmistakable 
ways  as  had  never  before  been  known.  And  there 
is  not  a  syllable  in  the  Gospel  which  indicates  that 
this  state  of  things  would  cease  until  the  world 
ends. 

The  ^^ower  of  evil  spirits  is  as  great  now  as 
ever  it  was ;  and  it  shows  how  broadcast  infidelity 
has  become  in  Christian  lands,  when  the  plain  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  have  come  to  be  regarded  as 
mythical,  or  an  old  woman's  fable  to  frighten 
children. 

Christ  told  Peter,  Satan  desired  to  have  him  to 
sift ;  but  He  had  prayed  for  his  deliverance.  More 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  later,  when  Peter  had 
been  further  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
better  understood  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  he 


260  emplot:ments  of  evil  spieits. 

warned  Christians  and  the  Churches,  in  his  General 
Epistle,  "  to  be  sober  and  vigilant ;  because  your 
adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  St.  James, 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Churches,  charges  them  to  the 
same  effect  "  to  resist  the  devih"  And  St.  Paul, 
before  quoted,  says,  Christians  are  warring  against 
the  ruler  of  the  darkness  of  this  world.  These 
warnings  were  written  to  be  handed  down  to  the 
end  of  time. 

History  confirms  this  teaching  of  revelation. 
It  shows  that  the  power  and  forms  of  evil  in  the 
world  are  continually  changing  and  adapting  tliem- 
selves  to  every  changing  condition  of  human  so- 
ciety. It  is  a  power  greater  than  man's,  because  it 
ahvays  conquers  him,  when  he  is  unassisted  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  This  may  be  traced  down  through 
every  successive  generation  of  the  race.  First,  the 
devil,  by  Herod,  sought  to  destroy  Jesus  ;  then  the 
Jews  persecuted  and  crucified  Him ;  then  Judaism 
resisted  the  Christian  Church  ;  then  the  Nicolaitans 
and  Gnostics,  Docetge,  contended  against  its  rising- 
power  ;  and  so  on  through  Montanism  and  Arian- 
ism  down  to  the  latest  and  ripest  form  of  the  dia- 
bolical Mormon  heresy. 

It  must  be  a  superhuman  power  that  can  thus 
read  the  great  heart  of  humanity,  and  thus  keep 
pace  with  and  adapt  itself  to  its  progress ;  and 
through  successive  centuries  keep  true  to  the  one 
grand  principle  of  luring  men  away  from  their 
highest  good. 

It  is  a  disagreeable  truth  to  believe,  and  so  men 


EMPLOYMENTS   OF   EVIL   SPIRITS.  261 

try  to  get  rid  of  it.  They  try  to  persuade  them- 
selves that  the  doctrine  of  devils  is  a  mediaeval 
superstition,  or  a  barbarous  relic  of  fabulous  igno- 
rance, and  it  is  the  devil  himself  who  so  persuades 
them.  Father  Kavignan  says,  "that  the  master- 
piece of  the  devils  of  the  nineteenth  century  has 
been  to  get  themselves  denied  by  the  age."  The 
wicked  do  not  like  to  retain  God's  true  knowledge 
in  their  hearts  ;  they  are  glad  to  believe  in  nothing 
above  their  reason  or  senses.  These  persons,  like 
those  described  by  St.  Paul,  "  hold  the  truth  in  un- 
righteousness." When  they  might  learn  of  God 
from  "the  creation  of  the  world,"  will  not;  but  are 
"  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  have  their  foolish 
hearts  darkened."  And  as  they  do  "not  like  to 
retain  God,"  or  the  knowledge  He  lias  revealed.  He 
has  given  them  up  to  follow  their  own  "  reprobate 
mind."  ^N'otwithstandin^:,  bad  men  in  all  a^-es 
have  testified  to  God's  truth  by  confessing  that  they 
have  been  hurried  to  crimes,  which  they  abhorred, 
or  which  reason  assured  them  would  end  in  ruin,  by 
an  invisible  power  they  could  not  resist. 

And  it  is  God's  truth,  that,  as  there  are  good 
angels  ministering  to  those  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation,  so  also  are  there  evil  angels  who  help  to 
corrupt  tliose  who  will  be  finally  lost.  The  Gospel 
makes  known  that  they  exist  in  legions ;  and  one 
whom  Christ  cast  out  said  his  name  was  Legion,  be- 
cause that  name  represented  the  numbers  of  the 
order  to  which  he  belonged. 

The  old  Jewish  opinion  is  doubtless  true,  that 
there  is  one  chief  devil,  once  an  archangel,  but  now 


262  employ:ments  of  evil  spieits. 

a  traitor,  who  first  revolted,  disturbed  the  ancient 
peace  of  heaven,  and  drew  myriads  of  inferior 
spirits  into  ruin  with  himself.  His  name  is  Apol- 
Ijon  or  Beelzebub,  and  it  was  he  who  exerted  all  his 
archangelic  power  in  temj^ting  our  Saviour, 

Moreover,  all  this  is  in  harmony  with  our  daily 
experience.  We  are  half  spirit.  Our  instincts 
teach  us,  that  this  world  is  not  our  home ;  that  we 
are  surrounded  by  invisible  spirits ;  and  thoughts 
and  desires  often  flash  across  our  minds,  which  we 
would  not  have  executed  for  the  whole  world. 

Man  has  no  i:>roper  idea  of  his  own  state  if  he 
disbelieves  this  ;  and  as  God's  Word  is  true,  it  is 
true  whether  we  believe  it  or  no.  It  is  evil  spirits 
who  cause  war  and  hatred  among  men.  The  devil 
is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  all  lying  spirits.  There 
are  spirits  of  pride,  of  iincleanness,  of  worldliness, 
and  ot  every  sin  with  which  men  are  tempted.  The 
root  of  pride,  and  lust,  and  every  evil,  is  in  our 
fallen  nature,  and  these  spirits  attack  our  weak 
points.  They  have  only  the  power  to  attack ;  they 
cannot  conquer  us  unless  we  surrender.  When 
repulsed,  they  return ;  when  one  sin  is  subdued, 
they  ply  us  with  another.  Those  who  cannot  be 
captivated  by  gross  sins,  are  lured  by  others  more 
refined.  They  change  themselves  into  angels  of 
light,  pollute  our  holiest  thoughts,  and  quote  Scrip- 
ture to  uneasy  consciences,  as  they  did  to  the  Son 
of  God,  that  they  may  draw  men  into  sin. 

These  evil  angels  confuse  and  darken  men's  un- 
derstandings to  accomplish  their  malicious  pur- 
poses; so  that  they  think  they  are   serving  God, 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIKITS.  263 

while  tliey  are  ruled  by  Satan.  St.  Paui  says,  he 
has  power  to  appear  like  ''  an  angel  of  light,"  and 
his  ministers  like  "ministers  of  righteousness." 
They  set  up  false  doctrines,  and  teachers  who  teach 
the  doctrine  of  devils.  And  the  danger  from  this 
source  must  be  great,  when  our  Lord  said  to  Peter, 
one  of  his  most  zealous  Apostles,  that  Satan  desired 
to  sift  him ;  and  on  another  occasion,  that  his 
opinion  savored  of  the  evil  one. 

All  men,  from  Adam  to  Christ,  were  tempted  in 
this  way  ;  and  God  never  changes  ;  and  Satan  will 
not  lose  his  power  until  the  end  of  the  world.  It  is 
a  part  of  the  trial  of  human  life,  of  man's  proba- 
tionary condition,  half  sj)irit,  and  surrounded  by 
powerful  beings  who  belong  to  the  same  universe, 
but  of  whom  he  knows  little,  save  of  the  ph^^sical 
part  which  comes  within  cognizance  of  his  senses. 

But  this  condition  results  in  man's  final  good, 
and  is  not  without  comfort  and  a  tolerable  degree 
of  happiness.  Every  man  is  happy  who  has  an 
object  to  live  for,  and  is  daily  gaining  on  that  ob- 
ject. Life  is  earnest  and  full  of  trials  ;  but  it  offers 
large  future  rewards  to  encourage  to  hope  and  ex- 
ertion. There  is  blessing  even  in  temptations. 
He  who  overcomes,  has  the  feeling  of  a  conqueror 
in  this  life.  St.  James  says,  "  Blessed  is  he  who  is 
tempted,  for  when  he  is  tried  he  shall  receive  a 
crown  of  life."  God  succors  those  wlio  are  tempt- 
ed, and  never  allows  the  resisting  to  be  tempted 
above  what  they  are  able  to  bear. 

Thus  we  have  reached  the  root  of  the  truth, 
attempted  to  be  set  forth  by  the  evidence  and  argu- 


264:  EMPLOYMENTS   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

ments  of  this  book  ;  which  is,  that  human  life  and 
action  are  intimately  connected  with  the  past  and 
future  of  invisible  worlds  and  beings.  That  the 
earth  is  but  one  of  the  grand  theatres  of  action, 
where  God's  creatures  meet  to  accomplish  their  sev- 
eral purposes,  all  of  which  have  a  connection  with 
one  universal  government.  And  that  the  earth  is  but 
the  workshop,  where  human  beings  are  trained  and 
instructed,  by  knowledge  and  influences  brought 
from  other  worlds,  to  prepare  them  for  the  occu- 
pancy of  some  other  planet  or  system  of  God's  uni- 
versal empire. 

If  men  were  never  tempted,  they  never  could 
become  like  the  Son  of  God.  His  human  nature 
was  made  perfect  through  suffering.  And  it  is  by 
the  conflict  and  resistance  of  spiritual  enemies  man 
fights  his  way  across  the  battle-field  of  earth,  on  to 
the  better  world  of  heaven ;  just  as  the  Scandina- 
vians fought  themselves  down  into  the  sunny  and 
fertile  plains  of  the  south.  Our  strength  and  com- 
fort in  the  conflict  are,  that  we  have  a  King  in 
heaven,  who  has  met  and  surmounted  all  these  dif- 
ficulties ;  and  a  Father,  on  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
verse, who  is  beholding  the  contest,  and  has  prom- 
ised, that  we  shall  not  be  tempted  above  what  we 
are  able  to  bear. 

"  The  same  sin  which  entered  and  destroyed  the 
unity  of  the  whole  creation,  has  re-entered  and 
broken  up  again  the  restored  unity  of  the  new. 
But  to  leave  both  the  past  and  the  present,  let  us 
remember  that  the  time  is  not  yet  come.  The  full 
unfolding  of  sin  has  ever  been  at  the  close  of  the 


EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS.  265 

aispensations  of  God ;  it  has  been  at  its  worst  when 
He  was  nearest.  So,  we  are  taught,  it  shall  be 
again.  All  God's  Word  foretells  it ;  all  the  face  of 
tlie  world  bespeaks  the  working  out  of  the  prophecy. 
The  day  of  Christ  shall  not  come,  until  there  '  come 
a  falling  away  first,  and  that  wicked  be  revealed.' 
The  mystery  of-evil,  which  by  one  man  entered  into 
the  world,  is  now  teeming  with  its  mightiest  birth." 
The  spirit  of  invasion  by  the  two  most  influential 
nations,  England  and  America,  is  rife  over  all  the 
earth.  The  most  enlightened  and  powerful  govern- 
ments are  heaving  and  swelling  above  the  agitated 
masses  of  immortal  souls  struggliug  for  human  free- 
dom. Abolitionism,  and  Mormonism,  and  civil  war, 
are  stretching  the  youthful  iron  nerves  of  our  young 
Republic  ;  and  imported  infidelity,  and  foreigners, 
who  have  neither  knowledge  of  nor  sympathy  with 
our  institutions,  are  destined  to  lay  this  glorious 
fabric  a  darkened  and  desolate  ruin.  "  Men  ]iave 
sinned  long  and  sinned  greatly  against  heaven  ;  but 
there  is  a  warfare  coming,  a  strife  of  man's  will 
against  the  will  of  God,  in  the  surpassing  tumult  of 
which  shall  all  former  disobedience  be  forgotten. 
The  Evil  One  shall  be  loosed  upon  the  earth,  having 
great  wrath,  '  because  he  knoweth  he  has  but  a 
short  time.'  And  all  things  are  making  ready  for 
him  :  the  powers  of  spiritual  wickedness  marshal- 
ling themselves  in  secret,  unfolding  their  legions 
and  unrolling  their  banners  around  the  camp  of  the 
saints.  Hell  is  moving  itself  to  meet  his  coming. 
'  And  then  shall  the  sin  which  hy  one  man  entered 
into  the  creation  of  God^  he  at  its  full^  and  the 
12 


266  EMPLOYMENTS    OF   EVIL    SPIEITS. 

world-long  growth  and  gathering  of  this  awftd  mys- 
tery he  aGGomjylished.  It  shall  at  last  stand  forth  in 
the  earthy  at  the  fidl  stature  of  its  hate  and  daring 
against  heaven  /  and  hy  the  corning  of  the  Son  of 
man  in  glory  shall  he  cast  out  for  ever^  Evil  sliall 
be  banislied  to  hell ;  and  tlie  kingdom  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness,  God's  ancient  kingdom  of 
glory,  will  receive  into  itself  the  sinless  and  re- 
deemed of  all  worlds,  and  God's  purposes  in  crea- 
tion will  be  accomplished. 

Meanwhile  God  overrules  the  temptations  of 
evil  spirits  for  man's  good.  They  help  us  to  grow 
in  grace,  by  teaching  us  watchfulness,  and  harden- 
ing our  powers  of  resistance.  Men  who  have  suf- 
fered but  little  from  temptations,  are  always  shallow 
religionists.  "  Lastly,  they  teach  us  spiritual  science, 
for  what  we  know  of  self,  of  the  world,  of  the  de- 
mons, and  of  the  artifices  of  Divine  grace,  is  chiefly 
from  the  phenomena  of  temptation,  and  from  our 
defeats  quite  as  much  as  from  our  victories." 


INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL   SPIRITS    ON   EAJRTH.  267 


CHAPTEE  Xn. 

THE    INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIEITS    ON   EARTH   IN   THE 
NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

In  every  age  of  the  world  Satan  lias  adapted  liis 
malignant  attacks  upon  mankind,  to  the  peculiar 
condition  of  society.  History  teaches,  that  the 
causes  of  evil  have  been  ever-changing ;  and  reve- 
lation declares  that  these  changes  have  been  made 
by  the  devil. 

St.  Paul  says,  "  Satan  is  transformed  into  an 
angel  of  light;''  that  is,  he  made  himself  so  to 
appear  in  the  false  teachers  of  his  day.  And  he 
adds,  "  Therefore  it  is  no  great  thing  if  his  oninis- 
ters  also  he  transformed  as  the  ministers  of  right- 
eousness'' 

In  the  last  century,  in  America,  he  set  Fanati- 
cism at  work  to  destroy  the  Church  of  God ;  and 
then  he  bewitched  the  people  with  superstitions, 
which  played  mad  pranks  upon  the  Church's  enemy, 
and  for  a  time  threatened  to  destroy  it. 

The  Good  Power  is,  however,  constantly  thwart- 
ing him ;  a  stronger  than  he  comes  and  spoils  his 
works  ;  saying,  thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  driving 


INFLTJENCE   OF   EYIL    SPIEITS   ON   EABTH 

him  to  some  new  device  for  deceiving  men  and  tlie 
nations. 

We  have  seen,  that  the  mental  and  physical  con- 
nections of  the  earth  have  been  disturbed  :  that  they 
do  not  now  hold  the  same  relations  to  the  nniverse 
they  once  did;  when,  in  the  beginning,  God  pro- 
nounced both  very  good. 

We  have  seen,  that  the  restoration  of  the  con- 
nection has  been  going  on  by  means  of  new  reve- 
lations ;  and  that  the  Bible  teaches  they  will  be 
finally  perfectly  restored. 

We  have  seen,  that  the  sundering  of  the  spiritual 
and  physical  connections  was  by  agents  from  beyond 
this  world.  That  the  entrance  of  Satan  brought;  sin, 
a  power  of  evil  not  originally  belonging  to  the 
earth  ;  and  that  a  miraculous  deluge  of  water  dis- 
turbed its  original  physical  condition. 

We  have  also  seen,  that  the  Incarnation,  which 
is  w^orlvino^  this  Restoration,  is  from  bevond  this 
w^orld.  That  a  new  Power  of  the  Holy  Grhost  was 
introduced  by  it  as  antagonistic  to  the  evil  one. 

It  would  have  been  interesting  to  have  traced 
the  visible  agencies  wdiich  have  been  operating,  in 
past  centuries,  to  effect  the  good  or  evil  results,  which 
have  taken  place  on  earth  ;  and  to  have  shown  how 
man  has  always  voluntarily  cooperated  Avith  the  one 
or  the  other.  But  this  would  have  taken  us  beyond 
the  limits  2)rescribed  to  this  work  of  giving  only  an 
outline  of  these  influences  and  their  results. 

The  shading  and  completion  of  the  picture  will 
one  day  be  furnished  by  some  more  competent 
mind ;  when  the  progress  of  society  and  the  fulfil- 


IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  269 

ment  of  prophecy  shall  have  more  fully  developed 
our  Heavenly  Father's  plans. 

Meanwhile  there  are  some  existing  facts  now  in 
operation,  and  daily  becoming  more  visible  to  dis- 
cerning minds,  from  wdiich  we  may  learn  how  the 
conflict  of  ages,  between  Good  and  Evil,  on  earth, 
has  been  going  on. 

The  prophet  Daniel,  more  than  five  hundred 
years  before  the  Christian  era,  foretold,  that  in  the 
last  days,  near  the  end  of  time,  the  human  race 
would  run  to  and  fro  over  the  earth,  and  knowledge 
would  be  greatly  increased. 

That  prophecy  is  fulfilled.  Knowledge  and 
locomotion  have  both  nearly  attained  tlieir  max- 
imum. They  cannot  go  much  beyond  their  present 
attainment,  without  encountering  laws  which  will 
infiict  their  own  penalty. 

Knowledge,  a  comprehension  of  the  laws  of  the 
universe,  and  of  its  extent ;  and  the  investigation  of 
the  laws  of  life  and  production,  have  nearly  reached 
a  point,  beyond  which  the  human  mind,  in  its 
present  condition,  is  incapable  of  advancing. 

Learning  and  civilization  will  never  decline. 
1^0  traveller  will  ever,  as  has  been  sportively  con- 
jectured, search  among  the  ruins  of  London  and 
Paris,  or  Pekin,  or  Canton,  or  Jeddo,  or  New  York, 
or  Mexico,  as  we  now  do  at  Babylon,  and  Palmyra, 
and  Persepolis,  for  traces  of  their  former  grandeur. 

The  civilization  of  Christianity  is  aggressive 
and  destructive ;  every  thing  dark  falls  down  and 
disappears  before  its  triumphal  march.  It  will  con- 
tinue to  encroach,  and  encroach,  and  absorb  the 


270  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL   SPIRITS    ON   EAETH 

nations  wliicli  have  it  not,  until  the  very  honr,  when 
the  trump  of  the  archangel  shall  assemble  the  whole 
universe,  to  behold  the  trium23hal  Second  Advent 
of  the  Son  of  God. 

Our  blessed  Lord  and  the  Evangelists  speak  of 
another  state  of  things,  to  appear  in  connection 
with  that  foretold  by  Daniel,  aud  in  the  midst  of 
which  we  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  now  living. 
It  was  to  mark  the  drawing  near  of  the  end  of  time 
to  man  and  his  world. 

"  Distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity ;  the  sea 
and  the  weaves  roaring."  The  sea  of  human  govern- 
ments over  all  the  earth,  tottering  and  tumbling  as 
they  have  been  amid  civil  convulsions  ever  since 
the  beginning  of  this  century.  And  the  waves  of 
the  people,  which  compose  the  sea  of  governments, 
roaring  as  they  surge  in  their  darkened  fury  against 
the  ancient  foundations,  which  have  long  restrained 
them  ;  swelling  with  mad  desires  for  expansion,  for 
enlarged  liberty,  for  j)ower  to  develope  the  divine 
faculties,  which  enlarged,  by  increased  knowledge, 
are  longing  after  ubiquity,  or  untrammelled  freedom. 

The  latest  prophecies  also  speak  of  another 
remarkable  state  of  things,  which  was  to  appear  in 
connection  with  those  named  by  our  Lord  and  the 
prophet.  It  is  a  fearful  declension  of  religion,  and 
a  display  of  the  power  of  evil  spirits  over  the  world, 
that  men  would  give  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and 
the  doctrines  of  devils.  Amono^  these  are  named 
despising  government,  forbidding  to  marry,  and  the 
increase  of  idolatry. 

Within  this  century,  these  three  crimes  seem  to 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.        271 

ave  culminated.  The  particular  phases  in  which 
the  power  of  the  devil  now  manifests  itself  is  in 
Fanaticism  and  Infidelity.  Both  are  producing  the 
same  results  in  opposite  directions,  which  show  they 
originate  from  the  same  source. 

There  is  not  a  government  on  the  earth,  from 
the  Celestial  Empire  to  the  United  States  of 
America,  which  is  not  convulsed  by  the  fanaticism 
of  its  subjects.  Even  the  wiser  men  of  the  nations 
are  restless  under  systems  which  their  ancestors 
gloried  in. 

God  established  governments,  and  fanaticism  is 
at  work  to  overthrow  them,  because  they  do  not 
shape  their  laws,  or  administer  them  according  to 
its  peculiar  views.  Infidelity  is  working  in  an  op- 
posite direction  to  usurp  all  government,  and  estab- 
lish a  universal  spiritual  despotism. 

Infidelity  and  fanaticism  have  united  in  forbid- 
ding marriage.  The  one  forbids  a  class  of  men  to 
have  any  wife  ;  and  they  are  the  very  men  whom 
the  law  of  God  says  shall  have  "  one  wife^  "  A 
bishop,  then,  onust  he  blameless,  the  husband  of  one 
wifeP  The  other  allows  many  wives,  making  the 
original  divine  institution  of  matrimony,  wherein 
God  created  the  race  male  and  female,  of  none 
effect. 

Infidelity,  in  the  dazzling  glare  of  nineteen  cen- 
turies of  Gospel  light,  has  enacted  the  new  dogma, 
that  there  is  another  sinless  being  on  the  throne  of 
the  universe,  besides  the  adorable  Trinity  of  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

God  has  revealed  His  Gospel  to  teach  mankind 


272  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL   SPIEITS   ON   EARTH 

concerning  Himself,  and  their  own  duty;  and  Fanati- 
cism and  Infidelity  are  botli  at  work,  in  different 
ways,  trying  to  undermine  the  doctrines  and  destroy 
the  influence  of  the  Bible.  They  say,  if  its  laws  are 
oj)posed  to  onr  opinions,  down  with  the  Bible. 

God  has  founded  his  Church  to  float  for  ever 
on  the  waves  of  the  sin-deluged  world,  as  the  ark  of 
refuge  and  rest,  for  its  tempest-tossed  inhabitants  ; 
but  Fanaticism  and  Infidelity  are  both  at  work,  in 
different  w^ays,  trying  to  shipwreck  or  destroy  it. 

These  influences  of  Satan  have  been  felt  in  every 
age  ;  but,  like  knowledge  and  locomotion,  they  seem 
to  have  culminated  in  the  nineteenth  century,  by 
attaining  their  highest  power  and  most  enlarged  dif- 
fusion. 

All  forms  of  error  which  deny  the  inspiration  of 
Holy  Scripture,  or  which  add  to  or  detract  from  its 
doctrines,  as  they  were  held  at  the  time  of  the 
Council  of  ISTice,  which  determined  the  canon,  no 
matter  what  their  pretensions  to  holiness  or  evan- 
gelical order,  belong  to  the  Infidel  class. 

And  all  forms  of  error  which  deny  the  existence 
of  a  Holy  Catholic  Church,  instituted  by  the  Son  of 
God,  on  the  foundation  of  twelve  Apostles,  and  ever 
since  continued  on  earth  by  the  nninterrupted  suc- 
cession of  a  Divinely  commissioned  ministry,  no 
matter  what  their  pretensions  to  the  Christian  name, 
belong  to  the  Fanatical  class. 

IN^ot  that  it  is  impossible  for  salvation  out  of  this 
Church.  This  by  no  means  follows  as  a  consequence. 
It  is  a  logical  consequence,  but  not  a  Scriptural  one. 
And  herein  many  have  been  deceived.     They  say 


In  the  nineteenth  century.  273 

logic  and  Scripture  cannot  conflict.  E'or  do  they 
ever,  except  in  special  cases,  like  tliis,  where  God 
has  declared  His  will.  Then  we  must  receive  it, 
because  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

God  can  and  does  save,  without  the  Christian 
covenant,  as  well  as  with  it.  He  says,  the  heathen, 
who  have  not  the  written  law,  have  the  general 
principles  of  that  law  written  on  their  hearts  ;  and 
if  they  obey,  may  be  saved  by  it.  Those  in  the 
Christian  Church  are  sure  of  salvation,  if  they  keep 
their  covenant,  because  God  has  pledged  Himself  to 
save  them.  The  advantage  of  being  there  is  not 
only  satisfaction  and  security,  but  those  there  have 
means  of  grace  to  helj)  them  to  higher  degrees  of 
sanctiflcation,  which  those  outside  have  not. 

Man  is  justified  only  by  Faith ;  and  any  recog- 
nition of  God,  and  determination  to  do  always  what 
we  believe  to  be  His  will,  or  any  public  profession 
of  His  ISTame,  before  an  assembly  of  believers  in 
Christ  and  His  Gospel,  and  resolution  to  obey  them, 
is  doubtless  in  some  sense  justification. 

The  only  external  evidence  man  can  have  that 
he  is  justified  is,  that  he  has  entered  into  covenant 
with  God  by  Baptism. 

But  a  full  and  complete  justification  comes 
from  a  full  and  complete  reception  of  all  the  appli- 
ances by  and  through  which  the  covenant  was 
established.  These  are  to  be  obtained  through  the 
Gospel,  and  the  Church,  and  its  ministry  and  sacra- 
ments. 

Salvation  is  covenanted  to  all  who  are  led  by 
God's  Holy  Spirit  to  obedience  to  all  the  externals  of 
12* 


274  INFLTJENCE    OF   EVIL    SPIRITS   ON   EAETH 

tlie  triitli,  wliicli  He  lias  revealed.  They  react,  and 
produce  in  tliem  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit. 

The  work  of  the  Christian  Church  and  Ministry 
is  to  preserve  and  transmit  the  means  of  grace  in- 
stituted by  God.  It  does  this  for  the  whole  world. 
But  some  nations  receive  more,  and  some  less  of 
this  light.  Therefore,  persons  may  be  saved  by 
obedience  to  the  degree  of  light  brought  home  to 
their  knowledge  and  consciousness  by  God's  Spirit. 
Thus  it  follows  logically,  that  salvation  is  possible 
out  of  the  Church. 

But  the  possibility  can  certainly  never  be  a 
satisfactory  inducement  to  trust  to  that  kind  of  sal- 
vation, in  a  matter  of  so  much  consequence  as  the 
soul's  everlasting  happiness,  when  a  better  way  can 
be  found.  Those  who  have  received  the  whole 
truth,  or  who  might  have  done  so,  if  they  had  tried, 
will  be  judged  by  the  Law. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression.  The  latest 
prophecies  of  the  E"ew  Testament  foretold  the  pre- 
cise condition  of  the  Church  and  world,  as  they  now 
exist. 

One  A230stle  said,  heresies  and  schisms  were 
necessary ;  necessary,  as  a  part  of  huma-n  proba- 
tion; and  inevitable,  in  consequence  of  the  do- 
minion, which  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world  have  acquired,  by  man's  voluntary  consent, 
over  the  human  mind. 

Another  declared  their  existence,  warned  those 
who  embraced,  and  cautioned  the  Church  spe- 
cially against  the  sin  of  idolatry.  Almost  the  last 
message  of  the  Beloved  Disciple  to   the  Church, 


m   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTUKY.  275 

the  Saviour  so  loved  as  to  die  for,  was :  "  Little 
children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols."  And  St. 
Paul :  "  Tliat  wicked  men  and  seducers  were  des- 
tined to  wax  worse  and  worse."  And  this  is  j^re- 
cisely  what  we  discover  in  this  middle  of  our  age. 
There  has  never  been  a  time  when  civil  and  re- 
ligious violence  has  been  more  tlireatening ;  or 
when  the  forms  of  error  attained  such  scandalous 
eminence  ;  or  wdien  the  general  disoi'ganization  of 
society  was  apparently  nearer  to  being  accom- 
plished. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  intimated,  that  near  the  time 
of  His  second  advent,  corruptions  would  again 
have  become  so  general,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of 
llJ^oah  and  Lot,  that,  amid  the  turmoil  and  dark- 
ness, it  might  seem  doubtful  whether  truth  had  not 
perished  from  the  earth. 

It  is  certain,  that  these  prophecies  are  fulfilling ; 
that  evil  men  have  waxed  worse  and  worse  ;  and 
that  the  standard  of  piety  is  at  a  low  ebb  in  the 
churches  and  among  the  clergy.  Loolv  at  the 
pride,  and  jealousy,  and  envy,  and  hatred  among 
men  who  are  ministering  at  the  same  altar.  Look 
at  the  falls  of  bishops  ;  and  the  state  of  feeling  be- 
tween many  of  the  clergy  and  their  bisho23s  ;  some 
excluding  the  bishops  from  officiating  in  their 
churches,  and  others  refusing  to  perform  Episcopal 
functions  in  the  churches  of  others,  of  whom  they 
unreservedly  say  bitter  and  unchristian  things. 

Whole  congregations  are  waxing  worse.  They 
first  went  out  from  the  Church,  rejecting  its  order 
and  ministry ;  then  they  preached  another  Gospel ; 


276  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS    ON   EAETH 

and  at  last  denied  tlie  divinity  of  tlie  Lord  who 
redeemed  them.  They  have  waxed  w^orse  and 
worse,  nntil  now,  Mormonism  is  recruiting  by  thou- 
sands and  thousands  from  Protestant  countries  in 
Euroj^e,  and  from  tlie  lowest  form  of  religion  in 
America.  And  what  is  this  but  the  fulfilled  words 
of  our  Blessed  Lord  and  his  Apostles,  taking  place 
before  our  own  eyes  ? 

Another  speciality  pointed  out  by  St.  Paul, 
when  men  would  not  endure  sound  doctrine,  was, 
the  agitation  of  the  question  of  slaves  or  slavery. 

He  knew  that  God  permitted  nations,  and  even 
His  own  people,  to  suffer  from  the  trial  of  slavery. 
He  knew  that  it  was  sometimes  the  punishment  of 
sin,  which  brought  with  it  the  blessing  of  repent- 
ance. That  God  afflicted  men's  bodies  in  this  way 
to  save  their  souls.  That  to  master  and  slave  it  was 
a  part  of  the  Divine  plan  of  the  universal  probation 
of  the  human  race.  And  he  knew  also,  that  God 
had  a  right  to  make  one  vessel  to  honor,  and  another 
to  dishonor,  without  being  called  in  question  for  it 
by  His  creatures  ;  that  he  had  a  right  to  do  His  own 
will  among  the  inhabitants  of  earth,  as  well  as  the 
hosts  of  heaven ;  and  so  the  Aj)ostle  warned  the 
Church  of  Christ  against  meddling  with  the  subject. 

Both  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  set  us  the  ex- 
ample of  letting  the  subject  alone,  save  so  far  as 
they  enjoin  both  master  and  slave  to  do  their  duty 
to  each  other  faithfully,  in  that  state  of  life  in  which 
God  had  placed  them.  And  St.  Paul,  foreseeing 
the  evils  to  arise   in  this  way,  writing  under  the 


IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  277 

direction  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  warned  the  CLnrch 
and  tlie  world  not  to  intertere  with  it. 

And  the  nations  and  the  sects,  which  have  not 
regarded  the  warning,  have  felt  the  bitter  conse- 
quences of  their  disregard. 

The  nations  have  impoverished  thousands  of 
their  subjects,  depopulated  their  slave-holding  do- 
minions, and  deteriorated  the  moral  and  physical 
conditions  of  the  former  slaves.  While  the  sects 
have  experienced  equally  disastrous  consequences, 
in  the  breaking  up  of  their  organizations ;  in  the 
loss  of  members  who  have  left  their  communions, 
to  devote  themselves  exclusively  to  the  work  of 
agitation  ;  and,  more  especially,  in  the  tendency 
which  it  has  had  to  overthrow  the  Bible,  and  to 
bring  about  a  general  dissolution  of  all  social  order. 

St.  Paul  taught  fractically^  in  the  case  of  Ones- 
imus,  who  was  a  runaway  slave,  doulos^  or  one 
bought  and  sold  for  money.  He  had  absconded 
from  his  master  Philemon,  a  wealthy  Christian 
citizen  of  Colosse  and  a  friend  of  the  Apostle's,  and 
gone  to  Rome.  He  was  clearly  beyond  reach  of 
his  master,  or  of  any  international  law  by  which  he 
could  get  him. 

At  Pome,  the  slave  met  with  St.  Paul,  and  was 
converted  to  Christianity.  Here  was  a  case,  where, 
if  slavery  had  been  esteemed  at  all  unjustifiable, 
the  Apostle  would  have  been  warranted  in  alloAV- 
ing  the  slave  to  retain  the  freedom  he  had  acquired. 

But  instead  of  so  doing,  he  prevailed  on  the 
fugitive  to  return  to  his  master,  and  wrote  a  letter, 
which  the   slave    carried,   exhorting  Philemon  to 


278  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS    ON   EAETH 

forgive  and  receive  liim :  "  not  now  as  a  servant 
{slave — doulos — it  is  in  the  original)^  but  above  a 
servant  (slave  also),  a  brother  beloved,  esj)eciall7 
to  me,  but  liow  much  more  unto  thee,  both  in  the 
iiesh  and  in  the  Lord." 

This  is  certainly  another  Gospel  than  that 
preached  by  many  who  call  themselves  disciples 
of  our  Lord  at  the  present  day.  And  from  it  we 
learn,  that  it  is  not  contrary  to  God's  will,  that  one 
Christian  man  should  hold  another  Christian  as  his 
slave. 

It  begets  a  new  relationship.  Philemon  was  no 
longer  to  esteem  Onesimus,  because  he  was  j)roperty 
and  valuable  as  a  slave;  "but  above  a  slave,  a 
brother  beloved."  Christianity  was  designed  by 
God  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  slavery ;  and  wher- 
ever it  has  its  pro2:)er  effect,  it  increases  the  happi- 
ness of  both  master  and  slave.  AVherever  the  sub- 
ject is  abused,  it  is  a  violation  of  God's  law ;  and 
the  violator  must  suffer  the  penalty. 

There  are  ranks  and  grades  throughout  all  the 
works  of  God,  and  subordination  in  heaven.  The 
servant's  j^bice  is  appointed  by  God.  Can  it  be 
otherwise,  if  not  a  sparrow  falls  without  His  notice  ? 
The  slave  is  j)laced  in  slavery  by  the  same  hand 
which  aj^points  the  king  to  his  throne. 

But  as  St.  Paul  is  the  only  Apostle  who  was  in- 
spired to  speak  on  this  subject,  which  is  now  so 
agitating  the  Christian  world,  let  us  hear  all  that  he 
has  said  upon  it. 

"  Let  as  many  servants," — here,  again,  the  word 
douloi,  white  men  or  black,  who  are  bought  and 


IN   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  279 

sold  for  money,  for  both  classes  were  then  bought 
and  sold  in  the  public  markets,  Christians  and  Pa- 
gans ;  yet  the  Apostle  says,  "  let  as  many  slaves  as 
are  under  the  yoke,"  which  implies  hard  bondage,  a 
galling  servitude,  "  coimt  their  own  masters  worthy 
of  all  honor:'  Why  ?  "  That  the  name  of  God  and 
His  doctrine  be  not  blasphemed." 

If  it  were  then  blasphemy  against  God  to  teach 
a  slave  to  be  dissatisfied  with  that  state  of  life  in 
which  God  has  placed  him,  can  it  be  otherwise 
now  'I 

Does  not  the  Apostle  here  clearly  recognize 
slavery  as  an  institution  sanctioned  by  God,  and 
recognized  by  the  Gospel  ?  Can  any  Christian  be- 
lieve, that  an  Apostle  of  our  Blessed  Lord  would 
have  uttered  such  words  under  the  direction  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  if  slavery  had  been  an  abomination  to 
God?     ]^o! 

And  he  goes  on  to  say.  And  the  slaves,  "  that 
have  helieving  masters^''  that  is.  Christian  slaves 
who  have  Christian  masters,  "  let  them  not  despise 
them^  hecause  they  are  'brethren^''  Doubtless  mean- 
ing, that  on  that  account  they  are  not  to  expect  to 
be  set  free  ;  ''  hut  rather  do  them  service^  hecause 
they  are  faithful  and  heloved^  partakers  of  the 
benefit," — doubtless  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ. 

God  here  again  certainly  sanctions  the  slavery 
of  Christian  men  by  Christian  masters.  And  St. 
Paul  continues  in  these  remarkable  words  :  "  These 
things  teach  and  exhoet." 

And  this  is  not  all.     He  also  commands  :  "  If 


280  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS    ON    EAETH 

any  man  teach  otherwise^  and  consent  not  to  whole- 
some words^  even  the  words  of  out  Lord  Jesus 
Christy  and  to  the  doctrine  which  is  according  to 
GODLINESS  ;  "  the  Apostle  implying  that  what  he  has 
said  on  the  subject  of  the  submission  of  Christian 
slaves  to  Christian  masters,  are  wholesome  words, 
the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  the 
doctrine  is  according  to  godliness  ;  and  tliat,  if  any 
man  teach  otherwise,  "  he  is  proud^^  preferring  his 
own  ojDinion  to  God's  law,  ^'^  knowing  nothing ^^  as 
he  ought ;  for  example,  that  God  is  w^iser  than  him- 
self, and  knows  how  to  manage  His  creatures  with- 
out their  help ;  "  hut  doting  about  questions  and 
strifes  of  words^  whereof  cometh  envy^  strife,  rail- 
ings, eml  snrmisings,  perverse  disputings  of  men  of 
corrupt  'tnindsP 

And  there  is  no  man  living  wdio  knows  any 
thing  of  abolitionism,  but  is  compelled  to  confess 
that  these  words  of  our  God  are  a  prophecy,  which 
he  has  seen  fulfilled  with  his  own  eyes,  in  this  our 
day,  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

One  more  point  in  the  Apostle's  teaching,  and 
we  have  done.  It  is  this :  "  From  such  withdraio 
thyself  y  This  command  the  Church  of  America 
has  so  far  heeded ;  and  she  has  experienced  God's 
blessing  in  the  peace  and  quiet  extension  of  her 
fold  ;  and  in  being  made  the  instrument  of  salva- 
tion to  thousands  of  slaves. 

Yes,  at  this  very  day  may  be  seen,  in  our 
Southern  churches,  the  same  sight  which  St.  Paul 
refers  to  in  his  Epistle  to  Philemon  :  the  Christian 
master  and  slave  kneeling  at  the  same  altar,  and 


IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  281 

eating  of  the  same  bread  which  makes  them  one  in 
Jesns  Christ ;  and  bringing  their  children  to  the 
same  font  to  have  them  baptized  into  the  same 
body  in  which,  in  Christ,  there  is  neither  bond  nor 
free. 

The  distinction  is  a  temj^oral  one.  It  in  no  way 
hinders  the  salvation  of  master  or  slave,  any  further 
than  it  begets  higher  responsibilities,  and  new  and 
endearing  relations  between  both  parties,  which 
would  not  have  existed  without  the  institution. 

Slavery  is  an  inexplicable  link  in  the  chain  of 
the  connections  of  time,  as  man's  bondage  to  sin  is 
an  inexplicable  one  in  the  vast  chain  of  his  connec- 
tion with  eternity.  God  is  the  Author  of  both  ;  and 
man  nmst  be  content  to  do  his  duty  in  both  as  best 
he  can,  seeking  help  from  Him  who  alone  has  power 
to  grant  it,  the  Anchor  and  Finisher  of  all  things. 

It  is  certain  that  slavery  in  the  United  States 
has  been  the  means  of  bringing  several  millions  of 
negroes  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  who  would 
otherwise  have  been  now  benighted  heathen,  in 
bondage  to  the  devil,  and  to  savage  masters  in  their 
own  land.  Their  whole  moral  and  physical  con- 
dition has  been  vastly  elevated  by  it. 

And  some  of  the  slaves  have  sense  enough  to 
know  this.  The  writer  knows  an  intelligent  African, 
who  w^as  imported  to  Georgia  when  a  youth,  the 
son  of  an  African  king.  He  said  to  him,  sixteen  or 
eighteen  years  ago,  when  there  was  less  agitation 
on  the  subject  than  now,  ''  Cudjo,  don't  it  fret  you 
sometimes  to  think  that  you  are  a  slave,  when,  if 


282  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL   SPIRITS    ON   EAETH 

you  had  remained  in  your  native  land,  you  would 
have  had  slaves  to  tote  you  in  palanquins  ?  " 

"  'No  !  "  he  promptly  replied ;  "  if  I  had  stopped 
in  Africa,  I  should  never  have  heard  of  my 
Saviour." 

We  were  alone  in  a  garden.  I  was  sounding 
the  depths  of  his  soul.  This  was  his  hearty  reply. 
And  doubtless  there  are  thousands,  who  are  thus 
daily  thanking  God  for  what  short-sighted  men  are 
denouncing  as  a  curse. 

It  is  probable  that  more  than  one-half  of  all  the 
slaves  in  the  United  States  are  members  of  a 
church.  Almost  all  have  been  baptized.  And 
there  is  no  other  class  of  four  milHons  of  men,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  which  can  show  as  many 
consistent  Christians,  all  things  considered,  as  tlie 
slaves. 

The  religion  of  Christ  is  one  which  demands  a 
cross  !  And  who  shall  say,  that  God  is  not  by  this 
means  scourging  to  Himself  these  dark  heathen? 
And  what  are  any  suiFerings  of  the  body  to  be  ac- 
counted, when  they  drive  men  to  God;  and  make 
them  secure  Him  as  their  everlasting  Friend? 

But  there  is  yet  another  point  of  view,  kindred 
to  this,  and  but  little  less  important,  in  which  slavery 
must  be  considered.     It  is  the  philanthropic. 

It  has  been  so  long  popular  to  decry  slavery ;  to 
set  forth  examples  of  its  abuse,  as  though  it  were  all 
evil ;  and  its  enemies  have  so  long  had  it  all  in  tlieir 
own  way,  that  many  candid  people  actually  believe 
nothing  can  be  said  in  its  defence. 

Besides    the  moral  and  religious    advantages 


IN   THE   OTNETEENTH   CENTURY.-  283 

which  show  the  past  blessings  which  have  flowed 
from  slavery,  there  are  other  considerations  which 
make  the  welfare  of  the  civilized  race  of  mankind 
to  require  its  continuance. 

The  best  interests  of  the  majority  of  the  labor- 
ing classes,  and  I  believe  the  welfare  of  the  whole 
civilized  world,  its  very  progress,  would  certainly 
be  retarded  by  the  abolition  of  domestic  slavery. 

The  time  came,  in  the  providence  of  God,  when 
the  horrors  of  the  slave  trade  should  be  abolished 
by  civilized  nations ;  and  He  raised  the  men  and 
means  to  do  it. 

But  the  experiments  made  in  the  abolition  of 
domestic  slavery  have  shown,  that  while  it  does  not 
benefit  the  negro  in  any  respect,  and  while  it  ruins 
the  master,  it  also  threatens  a  partial  destruction  of 
commerce,  an  abridging  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  and 
the  entailing  of  a  deeper  degradation,  and  a  more 
depressing  poverty,  on  all  the  loliite  labor  of  the 
civilized  world. 

White  men  cannot  produce  crops  of  cotton,  in- 
digo, cane,  and  other  tropical  j)roducts.  Let  the 
production  of  these  suddenly  cease,  and  who  shall 
estimate  the  ruin  which  would  fall  on  the  manufac- 
turers and  operatives,  and  the  agriculturists  in  the 
manufacturing  districts  of  every  civilized  nation 
throughout  the  globe  ? 

And  suppose  it  possible  to  substitute  free  white 
labor  for  black  slave  in  our  Southern  States.  They 
must  live  in  an  unhealthy  climate,  isolated  by  ex- 
tensive plantations,  and  will  necessarily  tend  to  run 


284:  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL   SPIRITS    ON   EAETH 

down,  23liysically  and  morally,  to  tlie  slave's  con- 
dition. 

"Who  would  wisli  to  see  four  millions  of  the  poor 
white  men  and  women  and  children  of  these  United 
States  degraded  to  the  condition  of  the  slave,  that 
the  slave  might  take  their  place  ?  God  seems  to 
have  contrived  the  laws  which  have  adaj^ted  them 
to  their  condition.  And  it  is  dangerous  always  to 
tamper  with  laws,  the  designs  of  Avhich  we  do  not 
understand. 

Recent  examinations  of  the  social  condition  of 
the  poorer  classes  of  whites  in  civilized  countries, 
show  a  woful  aggregate  of  crime,  and  poverty,  and 
wretcliedness.  This  is  especially  true  in  tlie  manu- 
facturing districts  in  Europe ;  and  they  show  that 
the  moral,  physical,  and  intellectual  condition  of 
the  slaves  in  the  United  States  is  vastly  better  than 
that  of  a  majority  of  the  poorest  operatives  through- 
out the  civilized  world. 

There  are  two  substantial  reasons  why  the  slave 
labor,  in  civilized  countries,  can  never  descend  to 
the  same  depths  of  social  degradation  as  the  lowest 
kind  of  white  persons. 

One  is,  that  the  slave  is  property,  and  has  an 
owner  interested  in  his  work,  who  is  certain  to  look 
after  him.  It  is  his  interest  to  keej)  him  from  in- 
temperance and  the  more  degraded  social  vices. 
It  is  notorious  that  drunkenness  is  not  so  common 
among  the  slaves,  where  they  can  get  liquor,  as 
among  the  poor  whites  at  the  South. 

The  other  reason  is,  that  there  is  a  public 
opinion  in  all  our  slaveholding  States,  to  which  the 


IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  285 

master  is  amenable.  He  who  despises  it  never 
fails  to  feel  the  penalty,  and  to  lose  caste  among  his 
high-toned  honorable  neighbors. 

The  fanatic  may  deride  these  facts  and  the 
arguments  deduced  from  them,  as  he  does  every 
thing  else  which  does  not  accord  with  his  own 
theory.  But  there  are  Divine  barriers,  which  God 
has  thrown  around  His  creatures  to  protect  them  in 
that  state  of  life  He  has  assigned  them.  By  these 
shields  their  condition  is  made  comparatively 
happy  and  honorable,  when  contrasted  with  the 
styes  of  infamy,  poverty,  filth,  and  suffering  in  some 
of  the  manufactnring  and  coal  districts  of  our 
motherland  at  this  very  day. 

Moreover  the  slave  is  delivered  from  that  one 
great  source  of  anxiety  to  the  poor  in  every  land, 
lest  they  or  their  children  shonld  come  to  want  in 
old  age. 

There  is  a  giant  antagonism  going  on  on  earth, 
between  the  powers  of  Good  and  Evil.  God's 
Holy  Spirit  is  directing  one,  and  holy  angels  are 
ministering  to  those  who  will  conquer.  Satan  and 
his  angels  are  influencing  the  men  who  are  deluded 
by  fanaticism  and  infidelity.  And  there  is  no  man 
living  who  does  not  daily  feel  the  influence  of  both 
these  powers ;  and  who  is  not  being  daily  shaped 
by  one  or  the  other,  into  a  form  which  he  is  destined 
to  bear  throughout  eternity. 

One  of  the  most  subtle  attacks  of  the  Infidelity 
of  this  age,  and  the  best  calculated  to  captivate 
cultivated  minds,  is  the  attempt  to  explain  away  or 
account  for  the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel,  by  a  myth- 
ical interpretation  of  them. 


286  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIKITS   ON   EARTH 

This  mytliical  theory  assumes,  that  man's  in- 
tuitive sense  of  the  need  of  a  Deliverer  from  the  evil 
in  the  world,  led  to  the  idea  of  the  Incarnation  of  a 
Divine  Being. 

But  the  theory  is  directly  opj)Osed  to  both  his- 
tory and  fact.  God  commanded  the  sons  of  Adam 
to  offer  animals  in  sacrifice ;  and  that  truth  of  the 
expiation  of  sin,  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  was  car- 
ried by  their  descendants  over  all  the  earth.  And 
it  has  been  preserved  by  tradition  among  the  pa- 
gans to  this  day. 

Observation  and  experience,  the  fact  that  the 
Gospel  was  opposed  from  the  beginning  by  the 
Jews,  who  best  understood  the  theory  of  the  expia- 
tion of  sin  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  show  conclu- 
sively, that  the  theory  is  utterly  groundless.  The 
expiation  made  by  the  offering  of  the  Son  of  God, 
was  a  stumbling-block  to  both  Greeks  and  Jews,  the 
two  most  enlightened  nations  then  on  the  earth  ; 
and  representing  the  two  extremes  of  the  highest 
culture  of  a  divine  religion  and  human  philosophy. 

Christianity,  with  its  central  doctrine  of  the  In- 
carnation, is  opposed  to  man's  preconceived  ideas. 
It  is  a  revelation  from  God,  which  not  our  innate 
ideas  of  the  necessity  of  a  Deliverer,  but  the  love 
of  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  knew  our  need,  in 
His  infinite  mercy  made  known. 

This  is  evident,  because,  after  all  the  prophecies 
which  foretold  this  event  with  such  particularity, 
God's  own  people  did  not  understand  it.  And  to 
this  day,  thousands  in  different  nations  continue  to 
reject  the  doctrine,  and  are  so  many  living  witnesses 
for  God  against  the  theory. 


IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  287 

The  mythic  theory  is  itself  a  proof,  that  mankind 
does  not  now  like  the  divine  plan  of  salvation  ;  and 
that  it  is  not  in  harmony  with  any  natural  instinct  of 
our  race,  except  so  far  as  that  instinct  is  moulded  by 
an  humble  acceptance  of  a  divine  revelation. 

There  is  no  mythology  which  has  not  come  to  us 
from  the  dawn  of  a  remote  or  fabulous  antiquity  ; 
wdiile  the  Gospel  was  written  in  an  historical  age, 
in  the  very  twilight  of  the  golden  age  of  Roman 
literature.  All  the  writers  were  contemporary  wdth 
the  celebrated  historians,  Titus  Livy,  and  Tacitus, 
and  Josephus. 

It  is  true,  that  man  feels  the  need  of  a  Saviour; 
but  history  teaches,  that  for  four  thousand  years, 
while  the  race  was  agonizing  to  discover  a  Deliverer ^ 
from  the  oppressing  sense  of  sin,  no  such  theory  w^as 
started.  Paganism  offered  its  own  offspring  as  the 
costliest  sacrifice  ;  and  philosophy  proclaimed,  by 
the  mouth  of  its  greatest  high  priest,  Plato,  that 
there  w^as  no  hope  for  man  until  a  Deliverer  should 
descend  from  on  high.  Both  were  instructed  by 
prophecy  or  tradition ;  and  philosophy  never  dream- 
ed, that  the  divine  Deliverer  would  offer  Himself 
in  sacrifice. 

The  Gospel  testifies  to  the  historic  reality  of  such 
a  Deliverer  as  God  had  historically  j)romised,  by 
the  mouth  of  all  His  holy  prophets,  which  had 
spoken  since  the  world  began.  But  He  was  such  a 
Saviour  as  neither  the  reason,  the  instincts,  nor  the 
necessities  of  man  had  formed  an  idea  of,  until  the 
advent  of  the  Son  of  God  actually  took  place.  And 
this  shows  that  the  mythical  theory  is  without  either 
rational  or  historical  foundation. 


288  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS    ON   EARTH 

Another  way  in  which  the  evil  spirits  have 
adapted  themselves  to  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
present  age  is,  by  making  fanaticism  attack  revela- 
tion, with  the  same  snbtlety  which  infidelity  has 
brought  to  bear  on  it ;  and  with  a  like  design  of 
influencing  minds  of  the  highest  cultivation. 

It  is  in  taking  advantage  of  the  facilities  for 
locomotion  and  the  enlarged  state  of  knowledge, 
and  thereby  increasing  the  destruction  of  the  souls 
and  bodies  of  men.  Modern  warfare  and  machinery 
have  made  the  civilized  world  a  slaughter-house 
for  man.  This  is  one  way,  turning  the  means  of 
progress  into  engines  for  destruction.  Steamships 
burn  and  sink,  and  locomotives  take  into  the  jaws 
of  destruction,  their  hundreds ;  and  battle-fields 
leave  their  thousands  of  dying  and  dead.  Surely 
the  woe  of  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse  is  fulfilling : 
Satan  is  "  cast  out  into  the  earth,  and  his  angels 
were  cast  out  with  him."     Rev.  xii.  9. 

Prophecy  foretold  this  would  follow  after  the 
suppression  of  the  Holy  Scri23tures  ;  and  atheism,  at 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  trampled  them  under 
foot  in  France  ;  and  the  Eoman  Church  has  since 
done  much  to  prevent  their  general  diffusion. 

Of  this  period  prophecy  says,  *'  Woe  to  the  in- 
habiters  of  the  earth  and  of  the  sea  !  for  the  devil 
is  come  down  unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  because 
he  knoweth  he  hath  but  a  short  time." — Rev.  xii.  12. 

But  the  other  is  more  like  the  devil  in  subtlety. 
It  has  turned  the  very  knowledge  of  man  into  an 
engine  of  destruction  for  his  soul.  Taking  advan- 
tage   of  human   reason,   inflated   by  the   pride   of 


m   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.        289 

knowledge,  and  the  wonderful  impulse  which  has 
been  given  to  the  human  intellect,  it  has  made  it  set 
itself  up  in  the  place  of  God,  to  decide  all  things 
according  to  its  own  decrees. 

Human  reason  is  actually  intoxicated  with 
pride.  It  sits  in  judgment  on  the  Word  of  God, 
declares  what  shall  and  what  shall  not  be  believed, 
and  has  no  stopping-place  short  of  usurping  the 
throne  of  God.  He  suffers  moral  evil,  but  the 
pride  of  reason  cannot  endure  His  forbearance ;  and 
it  has  already  begun  to  cry  down  witli  God.  A 
once  pious  congregational  minister,  and  well  known 
to  the  writer,  not  long  since  said  in  a  public  sjDeech, 
"  If  the  God  of  the  Bible  sanctions  slavery,  down 
with  the  God  of  the  Bible." 

This  pride  of  reason  also  shows  itself  in  attempt- 
ing to  make  Divine  Revelation  square  with  human 
logic,  and  rejecting  all  that  will  not.  It  declares  that 
a  miracle  can  be  proven  by  no  amount  of  evidence, 
that  Christ  is  a  mythical  person,  like  the  fabulous 
founders  of  the  early  empires,  and  God  Himself, 
"  apart  from  and  out  of  the  universe — is  no  God." 

These  phases  of  the  human  mind  suggest  a 
truth,  which  it  has  been  left  to  recent  times  to  fully 
develope.  It  is  this.  That  an  inordinate  exercise 
of  the  intellectual  faculty  leads  to  moral  insanity ; 
and  that  its  results  are  the  same  in  either  extreme. 

Reason  was  given  man  to  direct  him  to  truth, 
and  to  assist  him  in  its  examination.  But  it  was 
given  in  connection  with  other  faculties,  to  be  em- 
ployed with  them.  Separate  it  from  its  handmaids, 
one  of  these  is  Taith,  and  it  leads  directly  to  error. 
1-^ 


290  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIEITS    ON    EAETH 

Immoderately  exercised,  it  destroys  its  own  power. 
Its  results  are  the  same  on  all  minds,  and  in  all 
countries.  Blanco  White  and  Newman,  in  Eng- 
land ;  Strauss  and  his  followers,  in  Germany ;  and 
Theodore  Parker  and  his  school,  in  America,  all 
arrive  at  similar  conclusions. 

There  is  something  analogous  to  tliis  in  the 
natural  world.  Inordinate  stimulus  of  the  physical 
powers  destroys  the  will.  Alcohol  is  one  of  God's 
gifts  to  man,  and  designed  for  his  happiness  ;  but  its 
abuse  brings  disease  and  death  to  the  body. 

In  a  similar  way  excessive  use  of  the  logical 
faculty  destroys  the  powder  of  the  mind.  It  is 
God's  gift  to  guide  man  to  the  truth.  Its  lawful 
exercise  is  pleasurable  ;  but  its  abuse  brings  disease 
and  destruction  to  tlie  soul. 

And  there  is  another  remarkable  analogy :  the 
progress  of  the  evil  in  both  cases  is  highly  exciting 
and  insidious ;  the  victim  is  seldom  aware  of  its 
power  over  him  until  he  is  almost  hopelessly  infat- 
uated and  ensnared. 

Intemperance  causes  derangement  of  the  stom- 
ach, uneasiness,  and  remorse.  When  persisted  in, 
against  the  remonstrances  of  conscience,  the  will 
becomes  so  weak,  that  although  the  victim  sees  his 
danger,  and  often  ti-ies  to  retrace  his  steps,  he  is 
unable ;  but  goes  on  day  by  day  growing  worse 
until  death  ends  the  struggle. 

Intemperate  exercise  of  the  reason  acts  in  the 
same  way  on  the  mind.  Conscience  at  first  remon- 
strates, the  victim  feels  his  danger ;  the  soul  is  un- 
easy, knows  that  its  doubts  dishonor  God,  and  re- 


m   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  291 

solves  that  it  will  question  no  further  than  is  neces- 
sary to  gain  a  clear  understanding  of  the  truth. 

But  by  and  by  it  begins  to  question  what  it  had 
regarded  as  established  truth,  and  which  it  would 
once  have  shuddered  to  doubt.  Yet  the  fascina- 
tion of  the  pride  of  reason  daily  increases  :  love  of 
doubt  grows  stronger  ;  and  conscience  is  more  and 
more  weakened,  until  at  last  the  moral  sense  is 
destroyed.  The  victim  has  no  longer  tlie  power  to 
discern  between  truth  and  error,  or  to  retrace  his 
steps.  The  moral  power  of  the  soul  is  dead,  and 
the  person  overwhelmed  in  hopeless  infidelity.  The 
only  stopping-place  for  pure  infidelity  is  the  Ger- 
man doctrine,  that  "apart  from  and  out  of  the  uni- 
verse— there  is  no  God," 

God  forbids  the  exercise  of  reason  in  spiritual 
things,  without  faith.  "Without  faith,"  says  an 
Apostle,  "  it  is  impossible  to  please  God."  Keason 
is  man's  assistant,  not  his  guide  ;  and  he  who  per- 
sists in  following  its  unaided  light,  will  surely  stum- 
ble and  fall;  it  was  the  pride  of  reason  which 
made  the  angels  fall,  and  God  will  desttoy  it  wher- 
ever it  springs  up  in  his  dominions.  He  who  doubts 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  will,  sooner  or  later,  if 
he  continues  to  doubt,  reject  God  Himself.  Such 
has  been  the  melancholy  fate  of  some  of  the  ablest 
minds  the  world  has  ever  produced. 

These  spirits,  as  the  spirit  of  every  age  since 
Christ  has  been,  are  opposed  to  His  Gospel  and 
Church.  He  established  them  to  carry  on  the  work 
of  Redemption,  which  He  began  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself.     He  knew  they  would  not  remedy  all  th.e 


292  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS   ON   EARTH 

evils  in  the  world,  because  many  would  reject  them 
as  the  Jews  did  Him  ;  and  that  others  would  enter 
the  Church  as  Judas  did,  from  wrong  motives,  and 
fall  away.  He  foretold  that  the  world  would  hate 
the  Gospel,  the  Church,  and  its  Ministry. 

Our  Blessed  Saviour  proved,  by  his  own  exj^eri- 
ment,  the  impossibility  of  satisfying  the  unreason- 
ableness of  fallen  human  beings  ;  He  proved  it  by 
actual  experiment  on  the  same  age  and  the  sam,e 
people.  John  the  Baptist  came,  leading  a  retired 
and  abstemious  life,  and  the  Jews  said  he  had  a 
devil.  He  immediately  followed  the  Baptist,  lived 
a  social  life,  attended  weddings  and  feasts,  and  they 
called  Him  gluttonous,  a  wine-bibber,  and  friend  of 
publicans  and  sinners. 

These  examples  of  our  Lord  and  the  Baptist  are 
not  more  a  picture  of  that  age  than  they  are  of  the 
human  heart.  It  is  too  true,  that  it  hates  God. 
And  they  show  the  imj)ossibility  of  giving  man  an 
example  or  law,  which  the  majority  will  meekly 
follow. 

The  acts  of  men  recorded  in  the  Gospels  shadow 
forth  the  great  princij^les  which  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion of  human  nature.  It  is  not  John,  nor  the  con- 
temporary men,  who  are  held  up  to  our  view,  but 
the  principles  which  actuated  them ;  because  they 
are  such  as  would  be  found  in  all  ages.  Man  has 
always  been  dissatisfied  with  God's  arrangements ; 
has  always  preferred  to  have  his  oivn  iv'dl.  It  is 
man  in  rebellion  against  his  God ;  it  is  the  pride  of 
reason ;  the  same  spirit  which,  if  it  had  more  power, 
like  the  rebel  Angels,  would  grasp  "  wnth  its  feeble 
efforts  at  the  Throne  of  \\\e  Eternal.'"* 


m   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  293 

Jesus  was  a  perfect  man.  He  aimed  at  nothing, 
and  did  nothing,  which  was  not  for  the  good  of  his 
fellow-men.  He  devoted  all  his  time  to  going  about 
doing  good.  Yet  fanatics  and  infidels  found  fault 
with  Him.  He  did  not  answer  their  expectations  ; 
He  was  not  such  a  Saviour  as  they  wanted.  John 
gave  up  his  ministry  to  become  Jesus'  disciple ;  but 
some  chose  to  adhere  to  his  baptism  which  had  no 
Holy  Ghost  given  it.  Thus  has  it  ever  since  been. 
In  all  ages  the  majority  have  preferred  the  hull  to 
the  kernel  of  truth. 

The  error  of  those  men  and  of  that  age  is  our 
error.  The  majority  want  the  world  reformed  at 
once.  This  is  not  God's  way.  God  is  patient.  He 
always  works  slowly^  and  by  His  own  appointed 
means.  Our  Lord  aimed  to  reform  the  world  by 
planting  the  seed  of  His  kingdom  in  each  human 
heart,  tlms  bringing  men,  one  hy  one,  into  union 
with  Himself,  and  moulding  the  whole  lump  into 
the  One  Body  of  the  One  Holy  Catholic  Church. 
But  that  generation  was  not  satisfied  with  His  way ; 
it  wanted  the  evils  of  society  cured  instantly  and  in 
the  mass.  Because  our  Lord  would  not  work  in 
that  way,  He  was  rejected. 

Look  at  the  Saviour's  teaching.  He  began  His 
ministry  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Cgesar,  one  of  the 
most  corrupt  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Tacitus  tells 
us,  there  was  no  justice  among  men ;  no  virtue  in 
women ;  that  life  and  property  were  insecure  ;  and 
society  was  paralyzed  by  the  atrocities  of  those  in 
power.  Men  were  afraid  of  their  own  friends; 
wives  and  husbands  betrayed  each  other ;  informers 


294  INFLUENCE   OF   EVIL    SPIRITS    ON   EAETH 

spread  terror  and  desolation  in  every  quarter ;  all 
ranks  were  swept  away  in  one  common  ruin ;  and 
many  good  Pagan  Romans,  overwhelmed  by  the 
general  corruptions,  committed  suicide  to  escape 
them. 

Tiberius  was  as  loathsome  as  the  most  abomina- 
ble of  his  subjects  ;  he  banished  the  Jews,  our 
Lord's  own  nation,  from  Rome  ;  and  yet,  our  Lord 
never  denounced  him ;  did  not  invite  to  rebellion  ; 
but  said,  "Render  unto  Csesar  "  (this  brutal  Tiberius) 
"  the  things  which  are  Caesar's." 

Slavery  of  the  worst  kind  existed  throughout  the 
Roman  empire  ;  some  of  God's  own  people  were  in 
bondage  ;  and  more  than  half  of  the  white  popula- 
tion were  slaves.  But  Jesus  preached  no  abolition 
crusade.  He  said  to  the  slave,  do  your  duty  to  your 
master  in  that  state  of  life  in  which  God  Ims placed 
you^  as  you  would  wish  your  master  to  do,  had  God 
made  him  your  slave. 

Disgusting  intemperance  prevailed  throughout 
the  empire ;  yet  Jesus  said  nothing  of  any  tempe- 
rance society  but  the  Church,  which  He  established 
to  make  men  temperate  in  all  things. 

The  reign  of  Tiberius  was  tempestuous  with 
foreign  and  civil  wars  ;  armies  were  raised  and  sent 
into  many  different  provinces ;  the  feet  of  Roman 
soldiers  defiled  the  precincts  of  the  Holy  Temple  at 
Jerusalem ;  and  the  Saviour  knew  that  they  were 
destined  to  put  Him  to  an  ignominious  death  ;  and 
the  majority  of  them  were  the  refuse  of  a  dissolute 
society.  Yet  He  established  no  other  peace  society 
but  the   Church;   never  condemned  the  soldier's 


IN    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  295 

profession ;  but  exhorted  tliem,  like  the  slaves,  to 
do  their  duty  in  their  own  state  of  life. 

He  established  His  Church  to  do  all  this  work, 
in  His  own  way,  by  bringing  each  individual  into 
the  Church  and  union  with  Himself,  and  training 
him,  by  the  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  the  practice 
of  all  godliness,  wdiere  each  one,  gradually  improv- 
ing, w^ould  leaven  the  wdiole  lump.  He  intended 
the  Church  to  leaven  the  whole  world.  He  gave  her 
full  power  ^  so  that  the  world  needed  no  other  aid: 
and  He  allowed  no  temporary  prospect  of  doing 
good,  to  divert  Him  from  this.  His  one,  single  and 
divine  purpose. 

A  glance  at  the  society  of  the  present  day  con- 
vinces one  of  the  unchangeableness  of  unsanctiiied 
human  nature.  All  around  us  the  sects  are  reject- 
ing the  Church,  because  she  is  too  slow  ;  all  around 
us  men  are  choosing  the  chaff  of  some  human  sys- 
tem, to  reform  the  world,  in  preference  to  the  God- 
devised  plan,  which  our  Blessed  Lord  died  to  estab- 
lish; which  he  promised  the  gates  of  hell  should  not 
prevail  against,  and  which,  after  eighteen  hundred 
years,  yet  lives,  and  is  giving  proof  of  its  divine 
origin  by  the  united  hatred  of  the  w^orld,  the  devil, 
and  all  the  sects  against  it ;  and  by  the  immortal 
vigor  w4th  which,  notwithstanding  all  this  hatred, 
it  is  carrying  on  its  Master's  own  good  w^orks  of 
evangelizing  and  blessing  the  world. 


296  SUMMAEY  AND   CONCLUSION. 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 


SUMMARY   AND    CONCLUSION. 


An  attempt  has  been  made  to  trace  some  of  the 
outlines  of  the  course  of  creation,  or  the  works  of 
God,  as  they  fall  within  reach  of  human  observa- 
tion. And  it  is  evident,  that  tlie  earth  is  not  an 
isolated  world,  nor  man  an  indejDcndent  order  of 
beings ;  but  both  are  connected  with  the  system  of 
the  universe,  whicli  has  flowed  out  from  the  mind 
of  God,  and  by  whom  all  things  were  created  in  a 
subUme  unity. 

We  have  seen  that  God  has  three  great'  king- 
doms in  the  universe ;  and  while  w^e  have  only 
partial  views  of  either  of  them,  it  is  evident  that 
man  is  passing  through  the  kingdoms  of  Kature  and 
Grace  on  to  the  kingdom  of  Glory,  "  which  alone  is 
our  true  home."  We  cannot  fully  understand  nor 
clearly  trace  all  the  connections  of  these  kingdoms. 
"We  have  but  comparatively  little  knowledge  of 
things  relating  to  ourselves  in  the  divine  revelation. 
But,  so  far  as  we  can  discover,  there  is  but  one  Su- 
preme will,  working  in  one  way,  in  these  dilferent 
kingdoms. 


SUMMAKY   AND   CONCLUSION.  297 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  many  of  the  crea- 
tures belonging  to  the  earth,  having  the  same 
anatomical  structure  as  man,  in  the  first  stages  of 
their  being,  creep  and  crawl ;  but  afterwards  be- 
come winged,  and  fly.  This  teaches  the  proba- 
bility that  his  next  condition  of  being  will  be  a 
winged  one. 

The  creatures  to  which  reference  is  made,  pass 
throu^rh  a  chano-e  similar  to  what  we  call  death. 
Soon  after  they  enter  it,  microscopic  examination 
shows,  that  they  have  a  perfect  anatomical  prepara- 
tion for  the  new  member  of  a  wing,  which  is  in  due 
time  to  appear.  Anatomical  examination  of  man 
shows  a  similar  arrangement  in  liis  system. 

How  wonderfully  this  teaching  of  comparative 
anatomy  harmonizes  with  this  whole  doctrine  of  the 
connections  of  the  universe,  as  set  forth  in  this  book. 

Man  is  now  in  his  second  embryo  state,  pre- 
paring his  soul  and  body  for  the  great  change  which 
awaits  him  at  death,  and  for  the  more  glorious  one 
of  the  Resurrection. 

When  the  partitions  between  the  worlds  shall 
be  thrown  down,  he  will  be  like  the  angels ;  and 
the  wdiole  unbounded  universe  w^ill  be  thrown  open 
to  him  and  to  them.  ISTow  it  is  not  so.  But  that  is 
to  be  one  of  the  last  results  produced  on  creation  by 
the  Incarnation  of  the  ever  Blessed  God,  our  Sa- 
viour. Each  kingdom  is  complete  in  itself,  and  yet 
all  are  connected.  "  All  are  admirable,  though  the 
least  of  them  is  beyond  our  understanding."  We 
cannot  map  out  the  systems  of  the  universe,  nor 
arrange  the  orders  of  their  intelligent  beings.  Yet 
13^ 


298  SUM:MAIiY   AND   CONCLUSION. 

we  can  see  that  tliey  are  connected  witli  and  "  touch 
each  other,  gravitate  towards  and  revolve  around 
each  other."  But  we  can  ascertain  their  recipro- 
cal influences  only  so  far  as  God  has  seen  fit  to  re- 
veal them. 

We  discover  a  meaning  and  a  connection,  in 
these  consecutive  and  sublime  revelations  of  the 
Divine  mind.  They  show  that  the  Creator's  works 
are  perfect,  beyond  the  power  of  man,  in  his  present 
state,  to  fully  comprehend,  and  worthy  of  adora- 
tion. We  see  that  the  words  of  God  are  a  part  of 
His  works ;  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  universe 
which  did  not  proceed  from  him  ;  nothing  that  is 
disconnected  from  Him ;  nothing  that  can  exist 
without  Him ;  and  nothing  that  implies  that  any 
change  has  ever  taken  place  in  Him  ;  or  that  there 
is  more  than  one  God,  or  first  cause,  of  mind  and 
matter,  in  the  universe. 

The  immensity  of  God's  works  and  operations  is 
so  vast,  that  it  is  impossible  for  man  to  grasp  the 
whole  ;  but  all  the  detail  is  harmonious.  The  at- 
tractions and  repulsions,  of  both  mind  and  matter, 
proclaim  the  unity  of  the  Contriver.  We  do  not 
even  know  enough  of  God's  kingdoms  to  coinpare 
one  with  another.  Even  the  details  relating  to  our- 
selves are  incomparable.  No  mortal  mind  can 
fully  understand  the  connection  between  the  Incar- 
nation and  Redemption  ;  the  distance  between  Cre- 
ation and  the  Incarnation  are  yet  greater ;  and  the 
former  is  the  cause  of  our  own  existence  and  of  all 
things  relating  to  us.  Even  if  we  could  compare 
them,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  discern  the 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSION.  299 

motives  God  had  in  producing  them.  He  had  an 
object,  which  has  been  milUons  of  ages  in  develop- 
ing, and  man  finds  himself  thrown  up  into  the  ocean 
of  being,  in  the  progress  of  this  development. 
'  All  research  into  the  laws  of  these  kingdoms  in- 
spires reverence  and  adoration.  They  unfokl  God, 
widen  to  our  minds  His  being  and  wisdom.  His 
power  and  goodness.  They  give  us  clearer  views 
of  Him,  new  motives  for  loving  Him ;  and  our  de- 
votion becomes  more  intelligent  and  exalted,  more 
worthy  of  His  infinite  wisdom  and  glory.  They 
lead  us  up  to  the  pinnacle  of  knowledge,  from 
whence  we  seem  to  look  abroad  over  the  universe, 
and  down  into  the  mysterious  abysses  of  the  Divine 
mind ;  they  unfold  to  us  "  the  wonders  of  His  ways 
and  the  magnitude  of  His  operations." 

We  have  also  seen,  that  the  employments  of  all 
the  intelligent  beings  of  the  universe  have  reference 
to  the  common  object  of  manifesting  God's  wisdom, 
and  love,  and  glorj.  That  the  fall  of  angels  and  men 
does  this,  as  well  as  the  stability  of  cherubim  and 
seraphim ;  since  they  called  for  the  exercise  of  sucli 
mercy  and  love  as  could  not  otherwise  have  been 
shown.  That  the  outworlds  around  God's  throne 
are  the  nurseries,  which  He  projected  for  raising 
intelligent  beings,  who  were  to  be  fitted  to  enlarge 
His  kingdom  of  glory.  That  the  earth  is  one  of 
the  minor  divisions  of  the  universe  ;  yet  because  it 
is  "  the  world  whereon  the  Word  was.  Incarnate 
may  be  the  spiritual  centre  of  unnumbered  systems 
of  worlds ; "  and  man  is  one  of  the  orders  of  the 
most  intelligent  beings  of  the  universe,  and  that  he 


300  SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSION. 

is  now  as  miicli  under  God's  immediate  personal 
government  as  be  ever  vrill  be ;  and  tbat  all  the 
affairs  of  tbe  earth  are  directly  controlled  by  Him. 
That  all  worlds  are  connected  parts  of  a  grand 
whole ;  all  intelligent  beings  are  bnt  various  mem- 
bers of  one  family ;  and  all  have  employments  de- 
signed for  a  common  end.  And  finally,  that  man, 
by  his  present  earthly  labor,  is  working  himself  into 
a  clearer  light  and  knowledge  of  God,  and  the  uni- 
verse with  which  he  is  connected,  and  fitting  him- 
self to  take  a  part  in  His  government,  when  all 
things  shall  have  worked  themselves  up  into  God's 
likeness,  and  He  shall  be  "  all  in  all,"  with  no  will 
in  the  universe  not  in  entire  subordination  to  His 
own. 

It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  that  in  God  man 
lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being  :  that  He  is  not 
far  from  every  one  of  us  ;  that  the  hairs  of  our  heads 
are  all  numbered,  and  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the 
ground  without  His  notice. 

If  the  earth  be  thus  under  the  immediate  care 
and  government  of  the  Creator,  and  He  does  lift  up 
one  and  put  down  another ;  and  by  Him  kings  do 
reign,  neither  any  other  world,  or  order  of  beings 
can  be  a  more  intimate  part  of  His  universal  em- 
pire. This  is  conclusive  evidence  not  only  for  the 
connection  of  all  the  worlds  and  creatures  of  God, 
but  also  for  their  unity.  ]^o  world  seems  to  man 
to  be  more  independent  of  God  than  the  earth ;  and 
as  revelation  represents  it,  no  world,  except  hell, 
can  be  in  a  worse  state,  as  its  inhabitants  have  re- 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSION^.  301 

volted  and  fallen ;  yet  it  is  nnder  the  immediate 
care  and  control  of  God. 

Owing  to  man's  lowness  in  the  scale  of  being, 
or  to  his  fallen  condition,  he  does  not  understand 
the  scope  of  the  moral  and  physical  phases  of  his 
own  Tvorld,  much  less  of  his  relations  to  the  uni- 
verse. The  analogies  of  earthly  things  throw^  light 
on  the  peculiarity  of  his  condition. 

The  man  who  is  low  in  the  scale  of  intellect  does 
not  understand  the  general  laws  of  science,  govern- 
ment, or  religion,  as  well  as  he  who  has  more  capa- 
city. So  man,wdth  his  senses  trammelled  by  a  phys- 
ical organization,  cannot  see  distant  spiritual  beings 
and  worlds  as  spirits  do.  The  connection  of  the 
spirit  with  the  flesh  darkens  and  obscures  its  pow- 
ers. But  it  is  certain,  that  it  lies  not  in  the  power  of 
the  human  mind  to  conceive  of  a  union  between 
the  Creator  and  His  creatures  more  "  awfully  inti- 
mate "  than  "  the  sacramental  union  "  which  takes 
place  between  God  and  man  in  the  holy  eucharist. 
"Neither  has  the  creature  in  any  other  mystery, 
been  lifted  to  such  a  height  as  that  he  shonld  be 
allowed,  with  a  reality  so  real  that  no  word  is  forci- 
ble enough  to  express  it,  to  make  his  Creator  his 
daily  bread." 

Another  argument  for  the  connection  of  the  uni- 
verse is  to  be  found  in  the  strong  sympathy  which 
exists  between  the  natural  and  spiritual  worlds  ;  not 
only  between  mind  and  mind,  but  also  in  physical 
things.  The  deluge  was  a  miraculous  outpouring  of 
water  from  heaven.  The  fire  which  destroyed  the 
cities  of  the  plain  descended  from  heaven.    The  law 


302  SIJMMAEY   Al^D    CONCLUSIOJS^ 

was  delivered  by  God  amid  earthquakes,  tliunder- 
ings,  and  lightnings.  The  sun  and  moon  paused 
over  the  vale  of  Ajelon  to  give  God's  people  light  to 
pursue  His  enemies.  A  star  moved  across  the 
heavens  to  guide  the  magi  to  the  infant  Saviour  in 
the  manger  of  Bethlehem.  The  heavens  opened  at 
His  baptism,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in  the 
form  of  an  earthly  dove.  At  his  Transiiguration,  a 
voice  from  heaven  declared  Him  God's  beloved  Son. 
The  earth  rocked,  and  clothed  itself  in  darkness  at 
His  crucifixion.  A  rushing  mighty  wind,  and 
cloven  tongues  descended  from  heaven  at  Pente- 
cost. And  a  miraculous  light  and  voice  attended 
St.  Paul's  conversion.  These  things  are  evidence 
of  an  intimate  relationship  between  the  mind  and 
matter  of  this  world  and  the  invisible  powers  of 
another. 

Man's  individuality  shows  that  he  belongs  to  an 
order  of  beings  composed  of  something  superior  to 
matter.  How  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  one's  whole 
life  register  themselves  in  his  memory !  How  the 
past  from  time  wells  up  from  the  depths  of  his  be- 
ing !  How  anticipations  of  the  future  crowd  on  and 
startle  his  imagination  !  How  hope  and  fear  delight 
and  torment  his  soul !  These  are  shadows  thrown 
out  from  the  depths  of  his  mysterious  spirit ;  and 
that  spirit  has  an  instinctive  sense  of  its  immor- 
tality, and  relationship  to  unknown  beings  and 
worlds. 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  model  man ;  the  perfect 
type  of  original^  unfallen^  human  nature.  His  mor- 
tal body  has  gone  from  this  world  to  another.     He 


SUMMARY    AND    CONCLUSION.  303 

was  in  all  points,  sin  only  excepted,  like  ns ;  and  we 
are  in  all  points,  perfect  righteousness  only  excepted, 
exactly  like  Him.  After  His  resurrection,  He  bad 
a  material  body.  He  is  called  "  the  first  fruits  of 
the  Resurrection."  All  mankind  will  rise  with 
similar  bodies.  They  must  therefore  have  worlds, 
which,  according  to  human  language  and  ideas,  are 
material,  to  live  in. 

The  successive  thousands  of  millions  of  the  earth 
will  people  many  worlds.  And  the  ancient  inhab- 
itants of  other  worlds  may  have  increased,  by  a 
higher  and  diiferent  law  of  spiritual  multiplication, 
for  millions  of  ages. 

Revelation  declares,  that  when  Christ  shall 
assemble  mankind  to  judgment,  other  beings  will 
also  come  to  be  judged;  and  that  the  future  king- 
dom of  glory,  which  will  be  only  the  ancient  one 
enlarged,  will  be  composed  of  beings  gathered  fi*om 
other  worlds  besides  our  own.  These  worlds,  which 
now  seem  to  man  as  dissevered,  will  then  appear  to 
all,  being  spirits,  as  they  really  are,  as  one  vast  em- 
pire, tilled  with  varieties  of  intelligent  beings,  all 
children  of  one  Father,  and  all  created  for  one  pur- 
pose, of  understanding  and  enjoying  His  wisdom, 
love,  and  glory. 

To  man's  renewed  nature  and  spiritual  vision, 
the  regions  of  space  will  be  a  connecting  medium 
between  the  several  systems  of  worlds,  as  the  ocean 
and  air  are  between  the  continents  and  islands  of 
the  earth.  It  will  then  be  as  easy  for  men  to  pass 
and  repass  from  system  to  system,  as  it  now  is  for 
angels  to  ascend  and  descend  between  heaven  and 


304  SUMMARY   AJ^D   CONCLUSION. 

earth ;  and  distant  worlds  will  have  the  same  rela- 
tion in  man's  enlarged  vision,  that  the  neighboring 
landscapes  of  earth  have  to  his  mortal  sight. 

Space  will  be  no  obstacle  to  spiritual  beings, 
and  there  is  no  known  reason  why  they  may  not 
personally  ])ass  through  this  medium  with  the  same 
rapidity  with  which  we  now  send  our  thoughts 
across  it.  Then,  the  Scriptures  teach,  Ave  are  to 
know  God  as  we  are  known  by  Him;  and  if  He 
will  unveil  the  mystery  of  His  being  to  us,  much 
more  may  we  expect  to  know  the  wonders  of  His 
works,  by  means  of  which  we  shall  be  able  to  more 
fully  understand  all  His  divine  attributes. 

The  Holy  Scriptures  plainly  teacli,  that  there 
are  worlds  which  are  neither  heaven,  earth,  nor 
hell,  where  the  spirits  of  departed  men  live.  Our 
Lord,  while  hanging  on  the  cross,  said  to  the  peni- 
tent robber,  "  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in 
paradise  !  "  It  was  near  the  close  of  the  day ;  the 
change  from  world  to  world  must  have  been  almost 
instantaneous.  He  had  before  taught  in  the  para- 
ble of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  that  there  is 
another  world  for  wicked  men. 

It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  well 
as  the  ]^ew.  AYhen  God  aj^peared  to  Moses  in  the 
burning  bush,  He  told  him  He  was  the  God  of 
Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  Jacob  ;  and  Moses  could  not 
but  have  believed,  that  altliough  they  had  departed 
from  the  earth,  yet  they  had  a  home  in  some  other 
world  of  the  Father's  dominions.  And  St.  Paul 
confirms  this  opinion,  where,  commenting  on  those 
words,  he  says,  ''  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead, 


SUMMAEY   AND   CONCLrSION.  305 

but  of  the  living."  They  had  substantial  confirma- 
tion of  the  doctrine,  in  the  translations  of  Enoch  and 
Elijah.  Christ  settled  the  fact  that  they  Avere  not 
in  heaven,  saying,  "  I^o  7nan  hath  ascended  to 
heaven,  but  the  Son  of  man  who  came  down  from 
heaven." 

The  Jews  believed  Elijah  to  be  living  spme- 
where,  because  the  prophets  foretold  his  return  to 
the  earth  before  Messiah's  advent.  Whether  a 
literal  return  was  denoted  by  the  coming  with  the 
power  and  spirit  of  Elias  or  no,  yet  as  the  Jews  in- 
terpreted it  literally,  it  is  evident  they  believed  him 
living  in  the  spirit  in  some  world.  The  interview 
of  Saul  with  the  "Witch  of  Endor,  and  the  return 
of  Samuel,  whether  real  or  no,  are  evidence  of  the 
popular  belief  of  that  age. 

If  these  i^roofs  leave  any  doubt,  our  Lord  lias 
settled  the  matter,  by  recalling  both  Moses  and 
Elias  at  His  Transfiguration  ;  and  by  His  parable, 
which  represents  the  two  classes  of  the  righteous 
and  wicked,  as  in  different  worlds,  visible  to  each 
other,  but  separated  by  an  impassable  gulf,  so  that 
neither  party  could  leave  his  own  world. 

Our  Lord  went  away  visibly  on  the  air  at  noon- 
day, to  heaven.  All  this  is  corroborative  of  the 
opinion,  that  all  worlds  are  visible  to  spiritual  be- 
ings, and  to  man  immediately  after  death.  And 
the  fact  that  these  persons  could  not  leave  their  own 
world,  does  not  2:)rove  that  the  barriers  between  the 
divisions  of  the  universe  will  not  be  finally  thrown 
down  to  man  and  all  holy  beings.  The  dead  have 
not  entered  on  their  final  reward  and  punishment. 


306  SUMMARY    AND    CONCLUSION. 

They  are  waiting  in  liope  and  fear  tlie  general 
judgment,  and  until  then  neither  the  good  nor  the 
bad  can  leave  the  world  to  which  they  are  con- 
signed to  wait. 

That  there  are  worlds  where  the  souls  of  the 
dead  are,  is  as  certain  as  that  they  are  living  in  the 
spirit.  That  they  do  live  is  certain  from  the  ex- 
amples named  in  the  Old  Testament;  but  more 
especially  from  the  fully  authenticated  fact  of  the 
forty  days  spent  by  our  Saviour  on  earth,  after  His 
Kesurrection. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  the  fact  rests  on  liu- 
man  testimony,  which  is  not  reliable.  It  is  an- 
swered, that  this  testimony  is  unlike  any  other, 
even  if  it  were  not  inspired,  because  it  was  received 
by  the  people  to  whom  it  was  addressed ;  that  it 
produced  a  mighty  impression  on  that  age ;  that 
enemies  as  well  as  friends  testify  to  the  fact ;  that 
the  wisest  and  best  men  who  have  lived,  from  that 
day  to  this  have  received  it  as  the  truth  of  God. 

Take  from  the  Bible  its  "  material  imagery  "  of  a 
future  life  and  world,  and  you  take  its  soul  out  of  it. 
Its  solemnest  admonitions  and  most  inspiring  hopes 
are  addressed  to  us  as  immortal  souls  destined  to 
live  in  other  worlds. 

God  is  a  Being  of  infinite  purity  and  love  ;  and 
these  are  the  characteristics  of  all  beings  to  whom 
He  is  visible.  Sin  darkens  and  blinds  spiritual 
vision.  In  God  is  no  darkness  at  all.  He  requires 
men  to  cultivate  these  graces,  that  they  may  pre- 
pare themselves  for  a  change  of  worlds,  and  for  be- 
holdino;  Him. 


SUMMARY    AND   CONCLUSION.  307 

After  the  resurrection,  it  is  said  that  men  will 
be  "  children  of  the  light."  Thenceforward  there 
will  be  no  more  divisions  or  separations  between 
the  several  parts  of  God's  nniverse  ;  all  will  be 
gathered  into  one  in  Christ.  The  partition  walls 
between  worlds  and  orders  ot*  beings  will  be  thrown 
down,  except  in  the  one  world  of  hell ;  all  will  see 
in  God  a  common  Father,  will  love  as  brethi-en, 
and  knowing  God  as  they  are  known,  will  be  tilled 
with  His  fulness  for  ever. 

It  is  certain  that  man  can  live  in  five  different 
worlds, — Heaven,  Earth,  Hell,  Paradise,  and  the 
Place  of  Torment  of  the  wicked  spirits  of  departed 
men.  If  in  five,  then  doubtless  may  he  in  more,  and 
in  all  svorlds.  At  the  resurrection,  the  end  of  creation 
will  be  consummated.  Angels  are  now  God's  mes- 
sengers to  all  worlds ;  the  men  then  living  will  be 
joined  "to  the  innumerable  company  of  the  angels, 
to  tlie  general  assembly  and  church  of  tJie  first-born, 
which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God,  the  judge 
of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect." 

The  difierent  orderi;  of  beings  will  mark  the  dis- 
tinctions among  God's  creatures,  as  the  degrees  of 
intellect  now  do  among  men.  Each  will  be  satis- 
fied with  his  own  measure,  and  all  will  be  filled 
according  to  capacity  with  the  fulness  of  God. 

It  is  evident  from  the  Gospel,  that  change  of 
worlds  does  not  change  man's  nature  or  identity. 
The  rich  man  continued  to  feel  love  and  anxiety  for 
the  brethren  he  left  on  earth.  His  capacity  to  feel 
was  increased ;  for  he  at  once  desired  to  do  what  he 
had  all  his  life  neglected,  to  help  them  save  their 


308  SUM^IARY   AND    CONCLIJSION. 

souls.  The  case  of  our  Saviour  is  evidence  of  the 
same  fact.  After  His  resurrection,  His  love  for  His 
disciples  was  unabated ;  and  their  writings  show 
that  His  love  and  care  continued  after  He  returned 
to  heaven.  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  success 
of  their  labors,  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  Apostolic 
church  and  succession  are  proofs  of  it. 

Thus  it  is  seen,  that  the  human  soul  and  its 
affections  are  the  same  after  death  as  before,  only 
intensified;  and  that  they  are  the  same  in  Heaven, 
Hell,  and  Paradise.  Indeed  the  soul  is  always 
hankering  after  something  it  does  not  possess.  It 
strives  for  earthly  riches  and  honors,  or  pleasures, 
and  when  it  gains  them  is  as  much  athirst  as  before. 

This  teaches,  that  it  is  immortal,  cannot  be  satis- 
fied with  any  thing  whicli  grows  on  the  shores  of 
time,  and  that  this  world  is  not  its  home.  Hope 
and  imagination  are  continually  soaring  away  into 
the  unknown  ;  and,  what  they  crave,  a  home,  which 
hath  eternal  foundations,  is  what  the  Gospel  teaches 
will  be  the  Christian's  final  recompense. 

The  present  state  of  man,  in  the  Christian 
church,  is  the  same  as  it  always  has  been  under 
former  dispensations,  one  of  probation  and  ad- 
vancement. Only  we  live  in  a  clearer  light,  and 
nearer  the  change  of  all  things  into  a  fixed  state. 
Knowledge  is  running  to  and  fro,  men  are  almost 
as  Gods.  We  are  reaping  the  benefits  of  the  world's 
whole  past  experience,  and  fulfilled  j^rophecies  are 
pouring  floods  of  light  on  all  things. 

The  patriarchs  lived  in  an  age  and  world  of 
hope ;  hopes  of  the  promises  made  by  God  to  Adam 


SUMMABY    AND    CONCLUSION.  309 

and  liis  posterity.  The  Jews  lived  in  an  age  of 
better  hopes  and  clearer  promises  made  to  the  pa- 
triarchs, which  were  confirming  into  shadowy  real- 
ities, in  the  external  rites  and  ceremonies  established 
by  God.  And  while  Cliristians  still  see  throngh  a 
glass  darkly,  they  live  in  a  world  of  realities.  The 
promises  made  to  the  fathers  have  been  fulfilled. 
Tliey  worship  a  crucified  Saviour,  a  risen,  living, 
glorified  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  central  point  in 
their  ritual,  and  their  spiritual  and  sacramental  life. 

The  Hope  of  Adam  and  the  Patriarchs  is  ours  ; 
the  mighty  Kedeenier,  when  He  had  bruised  tJie 
serpent's  head,  overcome  the  sharpness  of  death, 
and  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  believers. 
The  reality  of  the  shadowy  ceremonial  of  the  Jews 
is  ours,  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  a  crucified  and  glorified  Saviour,  who,  when 
he  had  risen,  ascended  to  heaven,  and  sitteth  on 
the  right  hand  of  God. 

The  temporal  kingdom  of  our  religious  fore- 
fathers has  been  incorporated,  by  Christ's  Incarna- 
tion, into  the  universal  empire  of  the  Father  ever- 
lasting. We  now  see  almost  to  the  bottom  of  tlie 
sublime  depths  of  ancient  prophecy;  we  now  almost 
understand  all  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery, 
which  refers  to  the  past,  present,  and  wonderful 
future,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  man,  his  world,  and  his 
final  destiny.  "N"ow  therefore  (we)  are  no  more 
strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God ;  and  are  built 
upon  the  foundations  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone ; 


310  SUMMAKY   AND   CONCLUSION. 

in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together, 
groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord." 

Rituals  prescribe  duties.  But  those  given  by 
God  are  full  of  the  shadows  of  Himself  and  of  eter- 
nity ;  shadows  of  better  things  to  come.  The  race 
of  man  before  Christ  was  scarcely  conscious  of  the 
nature  of  the  great  spirit-world  around  it.  But 
each  century  the  prophets  were  commissioned  to 
throw  new  rays  of  celestial  light  into  the  horizon  of 
time,  to  gild  the  dawn  of  the  rising  Sun  of  right- 
eousness. The  Jewish  Bitual  prehgured  that  rising ; 
but  the  people  did  not  see,  as  we  now  do,  the  full 
im]3ort  of  their  ceremonial  sacrifice.  They  did  not 
realize,  until  after  our  Lord's  sacrifice  and  ascension 
to  heaven,  that  His  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world. 

The  substance  of  something  exceedingly  glorious 
was  looked  for  by  the  most  devout.  But  the  sub- 
lime truth,  that  God  is  love,  and  that  love  is  the 
foundation  of  all  the  law  of  the  universe,  was  only 
dimly  shadowed  in  the  Jewish  Rituals,  and  breathed 
from  the  Oracles,  sounding  along,  "  like  a  heavenly 
underchime,  which  could  be  heard  by  ears  to  hear 
those  things,"  until  it  was  at  last  fully  revealed  in 
the  angelic  salutation  to  man  of  peace  in  heaven, 
and  good-will  on  earth,  and  shown  in  the  life  and 
love  of  the  Son  of  God,  love  unto  death  for  man 
and  all  his  creatures. 

We  say  all  His  creatures,  because  those  who 
were  not  redeemed  have  been  enlightened  by  it. 

The  ceremonial  law  was  full  of  shadows  of  the 
great  things  of  Christ's  kingdom.  We  look  back 
and  see  plainly  what  they  prefigured,  the  substance 


SUMMARY    AND    CONCLUSION.  311 

of  whicli  we  now  enjoy.  That  is,  the  enlarged 
knowledge  of  a  future  life  and  world  ;  the  infinite 
love  of  God  in  giving  His  Son  to  die  for  us  ;  and 
our  own  exaltation  in  the  scale  of  being  by  our 
sacramental  union  with  Him,  through  the  Life  of 
His  Eternal  Son,  by  whom  all  the  mind  and  matter 
of  the  universe  were  created,  and  are  being  brought 
into  unity. 

St.  Paul  says,  the  Jewish  ceremonial  was  an 
image  of  the  True  Tabernacle  which  God,  not  man, 
pitched,  according  to  the  pattern  of  invisible  things, 
which  had  always  existed  with  Himself,  were  first 
shadowed  forth  in  the  blood  of  Abel's  sacrifice,  and 
more  fully  revealed  in  the  appointment  of  the  lamb 
for  daily  sacrifice. 

It  has  always  been  so.  Each  dispensation  has 
foreshadowed  the  higher  oncoming  one,  the  clearer 
knowledge  of  the  constantly  unfolding,  unknown 
life  and  world,  which,  from  age  to  age  have  been 
gradually  coming  into  view. 

The  fulness  of  time  scattered  cloud  after  cloud 
of  darkness,  and  revealed  the  Eising  Sun,  which 
has  ever  since  been  growing  brighter  and  brighter, 
until  now,  in  the  evening  of  time  and  of  the 
Christian  dispensation,  we  stand  on  the  threshold  of 
that  sublime  knowledge  to  which  each  one  is  to  be 
introduced  by  death,  and  which  is  another  step  on- 
ward, towards  that  universal  empire  which  the  Son 
of  God  is  about  to  establish. 

We  are  living,  in  this  last  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  amid  the  blaze  of  light  which  streams 
down  from  a  future  life  and  world  about  to  be  re- 


312  SUMMABY   AND   CONCLUSION. 

vealed.  Tlie  sacramental  union  of  man  with  God 
is  the  sublimest  mjsteiy  of  Revelation,  and  proba- 
bly of  the  nniverse.  Throngh  one  sacrament  of  the 
chnrch  we  receive  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  through 
the  other,  the  Life  of  God ;  and  both  have  special 
reference  to  the  spirit  world,  for  which  they  are  de- 
signed to  fit  ns. 

The  light  of  prophecy  was  the  dawn  of  the  Gos- 
pel day  ;  now  we  enjoy  the  full  splendor  of  its  me- 
ridian ;  and  the  sacraments  are  a  foretaste  of  the 
Great  Supper  of  the  Lamb,  and  of  the  full  tide  of 
immortal  life,  which  is  to  flow  out  from  God,  and  to 
pulsate  from  Him  through  all  His  holy  and  re- 
deemed children,  who  are  to  finally  reign  with  Him 
in  glory. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  Divine  economy,  and  the 
mysterious  and  prophetical  arrangement  of  this 
world,  that  coming  events  are  constantly  fore- 
shadowed in  its  progress  towards  perfection. 

The  deep  insight  of  this  nineteenth  century  into 
the  mysteries  of  nature,  art,  and  science,  is  the  fore- 
taste of  the  removal  of  the  veil,  which  conceals  God 
and  His  wisdom,  to  be  made  at  the  Resurrection. 
The  lightning  speed  of  the  telegraj^h  is  a  fore- 
shadowing of  the  hastening  moment,  when  the 
spirits  of  men  will  traverse  the  nniverse  on  immor- 
tal wings. 

The  Patriarchs  were  bondmen ;  the  Jews,  ser- 
vants ;  but  Christians  are  sons  of  God  by  adoption. 
And  although  they  see  only  "  throngh  a  glass  dark- 
ly," it  is  with  a  constantly  increasing  light.     The 


SUMMAET  AND  CONCLUSION.  313 

Christian  Dispensation  is  passing  away ;  bnt,  as 
sons  of  God,  its  subjects  will  abide  for  ever. 

We  have  a  full  Divine  Eevelation  of  all  tilings 
wliich  relate  to  man  until  the  end  of  time.  It  is,  as 
lias  been  sliown,  a  revelation  in  a  mystery ;  but 
with  light  enough  to  discern  our  true  condition  and 
destiny  ;  light  enough  to  guide  us  to  all  truth.  We 
have  the  example  of  Christ  to  teach  us  what  to  do  ; 
and  the  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  help  us  do  it ; 
and  ministering  angels  to  weep  and  rejoice  with  us 
in  our  conflicts  and  conquests  over  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil. 

We  have  the  Past,  with  its  fulfilled  prophecies ; 
the  Present,  with  its  analogies  to  instruct ;  and  the 
Future,  with  its  unfulfilled  prophecies  quickening 
to  the  birth.  But  they  are  purposely  so  dim,  that 
they  cannot  be  judged  until  they  have  fully  matured. 
We  are  walking  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  It  would  be 
of  no  advantage  if  we  could  understand  them. 
God's  purposes  must  be  accomplished,  and  if  man 
could  foresee  them,  it  would  cloud  his  life  with  sor- 
row. They  are  hidden  in  mercy ;  and  it  is  abso- 
lutely essential  that  they  should  be,  to  keep  us  hum- 
ble and  expectant ;  to  perfect  our  free  agency ;  and 
to  help  on  our  salvation. 

We  can  learn  a  great  deal  by  studying  what 
may  be  known  of  our  present  condition.  We  dis- 
cover that  we  live  in  the  midst  of  sublime  myste- 
ries ;  that  our  bodies  are  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
that  we  walk  on  holy  ground  ;  live  in  an  atmosphere 
continually  traversed  by  angels,  in  the  communion 
and  fellowship  of  all  whom  God  loves,  not  only  of 
14 


314  SUMltfAKY  AND  CONCLUSION. 

just  men  made  perfect,  but  of  the  saints  in  glory ; 
and  that  we  are  soon  to  see  God  and  them  face  to 
face. 

These  are  infinite  motives  to  cause  us  to  love 
and  adore  God  ;  and  knowing  these  things,  we  learn 
to  exercise  Faith,  Hope,  and  Cliarity ;  are  "  led  on 
to  a  practical  sense  of  God's  mysterious  presence  " 
every  where,  and  our  intimate  relationship  to  Him 
and  His  entire  universe. 

We  learn  that  higher  orders  of  beings,  as  well 
as  man,  are  awaiting  the  second  advent  of  the  Son 
of  God,  when  there  will  be  a  consummation  and 
conclusion  of  the  present  creation,  so  far  as  man 
has  any  revelation  concerning  it.  Then  the  present 
heavens  and  earth,  which  have  been  defiled  by  sin, 
are  to  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  to  give  place  to 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  will  dwell 
only  righteousness.  This  new  creation  will  have 
the  same  effect  on  the  intellio^ent  beins^s  of  the  uni- 
verse  that  the  first  one  had,  will  enlarge  their  ideas 
of  God,  and  finally  make  Him  perfectly  known  to 
all  holy  beings,  who  are  to  live  with  Him,  and 
enjoy  this  fulness  of  knowledge,  and  the  unspeaka- 
ble bliss  of  His  glory  and  presence  for  ever. 

As  we  have  ranged  along  the  borders  of  the 
words  and  works  of  God,  tracing  the  faint  outlines 
which  come  within  range  of  the  human  intellect, 
we  have  seen  that  they  every  where  discover  the 
strongest  marks  of  one  mind :  and  that  the  internal 
relationship  of  one  to  the  other,  the  marvellous 
unity,  and  the  perfect  harmony  of  all,  reflect,  as  in 
the  vast  mirror  of  the  universe,  the  wisdom,  power, 


SXntf]VrAKY  AND  CONCLUSION.  315 

and  love  of  the  ever  blessed  God,  the  Creator  and 
Father  everlasting. 

These  few  and  scanty  gleanings,  in  comparison 
with  the  whole,  from  the  ont-haiiging  fringes  of 
Divine  knowledge  and  trnth,  let  down  from  God, 
throngh  Creation  and  Revelation,  concerning  the 
nniverse,  teach  ns  how  grand  and  beautiful  must  be 
the  w^hole  ;  and  how  infinitely  worthy  is  the  Creator 
to  be  loved  and  adored  by  man,  to  whom  He  has 
given  a  mind  to  comprehend  so  much  of  His  wis- 
dom ;  such  i-ank  in  the  universe  ;  and  for  wliom  He 
has  prepared  a  so  much  nobler  dignity  and  destiny, 
when  the  abysses  of  the  Divine  love  shall  be  re- 
vealed in  him  in  the  future  life  and  world  to  which 
he  is  hastenino^. 


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